POSSIBLE USES OF THE CALIFORNIA STONES. 161 



is divided by the Peruvian club, with its bronze, star-shaped head, are shown 

 a number of perforated stones, of various sizes and shapes, from North and 

 South America, Europe, and Africa, all of which have been specially referred 

 to in the preceding pages. It is, therefore, only necessary to call attention 

 to the very close resemblance between several of these foreign specimens 

 and those from California, as for instance Figs. 14 and 17 from Denmark, 

 Fig. 18 from South Africa, Fig. 19 from Central America, Fig. 20 from 

 Peru, and Fig. 21 from Chili. 



At the time this plate was photographed comparatively few stones 

 of this class had been collected in California ; hence several interesting 

 examples from later explorations, which would have added much to the 

 value of the plate in showing their great diversity in size, shape, and orna- 

 mentation, are not included Several of these are, however, shown in the 

 following figures in the text. 



A careful study of the hundred examples of these stones from Cali- 

 fornia, now before me, has confirmed my belief that they were used for 

 various purposes by the old Californians, and that while some may, possibly, 

 have been used as weights for digging-sticks and for net-sinkers, as Mr. Schu- 

 macher believes, it would certainly be going too far to include all the speci- 

 mens in these two groups, even should we agree with Mr. Schumacher in 

 regarding many of the smaller specimens as toys for children. Dr. Yarrow 

 has kindly given me his views as to the probable use of these stones, the 

 substance of which is as follows: 



It seems inconceivable to me that any one who has examined carefully any num- 

 ber of these larger perforated stones can for a moment hold to the theory of their being 

 primarily used for digging-weights. That they may have been occasionally used as 

 such is possible, but their probable use was more likely similar to that to which the 

 Eskimos put their perforated stones — as a club, with a loose or flexible handle. 

 If they were used for digging-sticks, how is it that not a single example of these sticks 

 has ever been found, not even a trace? For instance, at Dos Pueblos we found ollas, 

 mortars, pipes, cups, iron hatchet (Spanish), China cup and saucer (modern), a few 

 articles of wood, and perforated stones in juxtaposition; is it not likely that digging- 

 sticks as a necessary article for use in the next world would also have been found if in 

 such common use as is indicated by the great number of the stones in question 1 ? I see 



plate its top. The reference numbers to the figures have the appearance of having been placed at ran- 

 dom over the plate, but the nearest number to the upper margin of each figure is its indicator, notwith- 

 standing the fact that in several instances the number is close to some figure to which it does not refer, 

 11 G I 



