No. 2. Charm Stones. 13 



CHARM STONES, 



Notes on He So-Called "Plummets" or "Sinkers," 



BY DR. LORENZO G. YATES, F. L. S. ; F. G. S. A., ETC. 

 [Corresponding Member of the Anthropological Society of Washington.] 



THE principal portion of the following "notes,' to- 

 gether with the illustrations, were published in 

 the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 

 1886. 



The manuscript and illustrations were sent to Wash- 

 ington to be submitted to the late Prof. Spencer F. 

 Baird for advice in relation to their publication, but he 

 was absent, and his death occurred shortly after; the 

 article was afterwards placed in the hands of the Pub- 

 lic Printer for publication. 



The descriptions of the illustrations and some addi- 

 tional notes were however lost, and the present edition 

 is republished under the auspices of the Santa Barbara 

 Society of Natural History, in which are incorporated 

 some later observations on the subject. 



Since the publication of the first edition I have found 

 some of my original notes which were made nearly 20 

 years ago, the facts of which I have added to the notes 

 already published. 



Several years ago an article appeared in the Ameri- 

 can Naturalist (November, 1872), by J. G. Henderson, 

 on the subject of "plummets," in which, after describ- 

 ing and figuring several specimens found at various 

 places, he offered some conjectures as to their uses, six 

 of which uses he enumerates as probable : 



(1) As slung-shots. 



(2) As sinkers for fishing-tackle. 



(3) In playing some game. 



(4) As- sacred implements in performing some relig- 

 ious ceremonies. 



(5) As personal ornaments. 



(6) As plummets and levels. 



