116 



COOKING POTS AND FOOD VESSELS. 



the graves at La Patera, was filled with seeds which Dr. Rothrock* has 

 shown to be those of the Salvia Columbaria. These utilized shells do not 

 appear to be altered in any way other than as mentioned above. Dr. Rau,f 

 in referring to the occurrence of shells in ancient Californian coast graves, 

 remarks, concerning the ancient inhabitants of this locality, " that they util- 

 ized the unaltered shells of Haliotis, Cardiwm, Pecten, Patella, Spondylus, and 

 Panopcea as the receptacles for asphaltum is demonstrated by a number of 

 shells, still filled with that substance, which were obtained from graves on 

 the Santa Barbara group of islands." Shells of the above-named genera 

 were also found by Dr. Yarrow's party, and contain various substances, 

 principally the red and black pigments. Dr. Yarrow also informs me that 



some of the Haliotis shells found were 

 placed^ on top of the crania in the 



Fig. 38. 



graves. 



In connection with the small re- 

 ceptacles of various kinds, should be 

 classed the cups made from vertebras 

 of large fishes, inasmuch as the ma- 

 jority of such bone cups, of which 

 many have been found in the graves, 

 are filled with substances evidently in- 

 - tended for use in savage decoration. 



Cup made from vertebra of a fish. Q ne of thege cupg> of about fa Q max . 



imum size, is represented in Fig. 38. Similar cups made from fish-bones 

 were evidently used for other purposes, as shown further on, where a 

 peculiar ornament is described as partly made from a vertebra of a fish.J 



*See page 80. \L. c, p. 67. 



t The explorations of the Santa Barbara Islands have brought to light several more of these singu- 

 lar cups of various sizes. It is of interest in this connection to recall to memory the "large drinking- 

 cup made from the vertebra of a whale " which was found on the Isle of Eday, Orkney, and figured in 

 Wilson's Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, vol. 1, p. 113.— F. W. P. 



