HORN AND BONE IMPLEMENTS 323 



force. Some now in the field will fall before that advance is made, 

 but they may be assured that every early effort will have some later 

 value. 



Fig. 89 suggests a bone harpoon begun, but the slight notches are 

 turned the wrong way. It is flat, and probably had a sharp point 

 which has been broken off. The general form is that of a flat awl, 

 but these slight and uniform notches arouse conjectures. Harpoons 

 are not rare in the preparatory stages. This is from Brewerton, 

 where these implements have been found in the greatest numbers. 



Fig. 98 will introduce the reader to some implements of a puzzling 

 nature. The one here represented is of horn, nearly half preserv- 

 ing the cylindric form, the rest of the long handle being cat into 

 oblong facets, so that it becomes somewhat flat near the groove 

 toward the lower end. This groove produces an irregular square, 

 furrowed on one surface with deep longitudinal grooves. Mr Rich- 

 mond obtained this in Rice's woods, near Stone Arabia, and thought 

 it had been used in marking pottery. Those who have studied 

 aboriginal pottery will see that such implements were not employed, 

 though the suggestion would be otherwise probable. Such an 

 implement would make parallel lines, and these do not strictly appear 

 on native vessels. It might have been used in scraping hair from 

 hides, but its value for this has not been tested. Had this been its 

 use, more of its kind would have been found, but it seems quite 

 rare. Fig. 338 is another of these, which is also of horn. It was 

 found by Dr Hinsdale on the Sheldon fort site in Pompey. In the 

 plate it is reduced, the actual length being 7-J- inches, and the greatest 

 thickness -J of an inch. There are six deep grooves at one end, 

 which are much longer than those in the Richmond example, and 

 are not bounded by a cross groove. The sides are cut down so that 

 it makes a rudely handled and abruptly curving tool. The writer 

 thinks its most probable use was in preparing clay for the finer 

 articles of earthenware. Its furrowed surface and peculiar form 

 would fit it for this use. It is to be remembered that both these 

 sites were occupied in recent times, probably about 1630, and are 

 well supplied with European articles. 



Two of these articles are in the Toronto collection, and both are 

 of bone. One is llf inches long and quite straight, the grooves 



