﻿6o 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  bone. 
  Some 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  Great 
  Britain, 
  but 
  of 
  simple 
  forms 
  and 
  

   rude 
  workmanship. 
  Dr 
  Abbott 
  well 
  said 
  of 
  these, 
  and 
  some 
  other 
  

   things, 
  ' 
  It 
  is 
  certain 
  that 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  our 
  specimens, 
  such 
  as 
  

   scrapers, 
  drilling 
  stones, 
  etc., 
  are 
  manufactured 
  with 
  greater 
  ele- 
  

   gance, 
  and 
  evince 
  a 
  more 
  thorough 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  chipping 
  art. 
  

   The 
  English 
  specimens 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  all 
  flakes, 
  which 
  have 
  had 
  the 
  

   edges 
  chipped, 
  that 
  the 
  required 
  shape 
  might 
  be 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  speci- 
  

   men.' 
  Ours 
  are 
  usually 
  worked 
  over 
  the 
  entire 
  surface, 
  but 
  not 
  in- 
  

   variably, 
  for 
  we 
  have 
  specimens 
  as 
  rude 
  as 
  any 
  in 
  England. 
  

  

  In 
  some 
  places 
  perforators 
  are 
  rare, 
  and 
  but 
  six 
  were 
  catalogued 
  

   in 
  the 
  Wagman 
  collection 
  at 
  Saratoga. 
  Out 
  of 
  327 
  in 
  Mr 
  Douglass' 
  

   collection, 
  but 
  29 
  are 
  credited 
  to 
  New 
  York, 
  where 
  they 
  really 
  are 
  

   abundant. 
  

  

  So 
  slight 
  is 
  the 
  division 
  between 
  these 
  and 
  arrow-heads, 
  in 
  very 
  

   many 
  cases, 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  recently 
  been 
  suggested 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  but 
  a 
  

   slender 
  form 
  of 
  these. 
  Sometimes 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  question 
  to 
  which 
  class 
  to 
  

   assign 
  some 
  forms. 
  A 
  series 
  of 
  triangular 
  arrows 
  from 
  one 
  site, 
  com- 
  

   mencing 
  with 
  a 
  broad 
  form, 
  grades 
  insensibly 
  into 
  those 
  so 
  slender 
  

   that 
  they 
  would 
  be 
  called 
  drills 
  anywhere 
  else. 
  The 
  main 
  difficulty, 
  

   however, 
  is 
  to 
  assign 
  them 
  a 
  distinct 
  use. 
  They 
  fit 
  well 
  in 
  the 
  spiral 
  

   perforations 
  of 
  gorgets, 
  but 
  no 
  great 
  length 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  required 
  

   for 
  these. 
  Possibly 
  they 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  used 
  in 
  perforating 
  wood, 
  

   but 
  this 
  is 
  doubtful. 
  For 
  piercing 
  leather 
  a 
  sharp 
  bone 
  or 
  thorn 
  

   would 
  have 
  been 
  preferable. 
  An 
  early 
  writer, 
  in 
  speaking 
  of 
  shell 
  

   beads, 
  said 
  they 
  were 
  drilled 
  with 
  a 
  nail 
  or 
  a 
  sharp 
  stone. 
  We 
  might 
  

   suppose 
  that 
  their 
  use 
  was 
  of 
  this 
  nature, 
  were 
  it 
  not 
  for 
  their 
  abun- 
  

   dance 
  in 
  places 
  where 
  large 
  shell 
  beads 
  were 
  not 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  made. 
  

   Their 
  fragile 
  character 
  and 
  few 
  signs 
  of 
  use, 
  increase 
  the 
  difficulties 
  

   of 
  the 
  problem. 
  Some, 
  therefore, 
  have 
  suggested 
  that 
  many 
  were 
  

   pins, 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  ornamental. 
  Dr 
  Rau 
  thought 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  straight, 
  

   double 
  pointed 
  forms 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  used 
  in 
  fishing, 
  the 
  line 
  being 
  

   attached 
  in 
  the 
  center, 
  according 
  to 
  a 
  well 
  known 
  method. 
  The 
  ques- 
  

   tion 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  satisfactorily 
  discussed 
  now. 
  

  

  Long 
  straight 
  perforators 
  or 
  drills, 
  for 
  the 
  common 
  name 
  will 
  be 
  

   used 
  here, 
  are 
  quite 
  common, 
  and 
  are 
  usually 
  of 
  grey, 
  drab, 
  or 
  black 
  

   flint, 
  often 
  expanding 
  at 
  the 
  base. 
  They 
  suggest 
  awls 
  or 
  bodkins, 
  at 
  

  

  