166 



PEEFOEATED STONES. 



(S. I. 18289) which varies but slightly in size from the one in the Peabody 

 Museum from that island. Like another specimen from the same island 



(P. M. 9297), it has a slight rim cut round 

 the hole at the pointed end. One of these 

 stones, of which only a half is preserved, 

 is shown in section by Fig. 46. The two 

 other specimens now before me, and the one 

 I measured belonging to the Smithsonian 

 Institution, differ from the figure here given 

 only in having their greatest diameter 

 nearer the base, and hence are not so globu- 

 lar. The measurements taken of these 



Perforatecfstone from island of Santa Cruz. i • n • . , • i 



Section showing hole, +. several specimens are ot interest m show- 



ing their close agreement, and are as follows : 



1. P. M. 9295, Santa Cruz; height, 4 iuches; diameter, 4J inches; weight, 43 oz. 



2. S. I. 182S9, " " " 3f " " 4-J " 



3. P. M. 9297, " " " 3J " " 4* " (Fig. 46.) 



4. P. M. 13810, Santa Bosa ; " U " " 4J " weight, 40 oz. 



The perforations in all four are very nearly of the same diameter, 

 and in the three other specimens are more nearly straight than in the one 

 shown in section by Fig. 46. The diameter of the holes measured across 

 the opening on the lower face is about lj| inches in each, while, measured 

 at the opposite end, it is £ an inch less, and in the centre it is from 1 to 

 1^ inches. In two of these stones, which weigh forty and forty-three 

 ounces, respectively, the sides of the perforation show many fine longitu- 

 dinal striatums and a smoothness of surface indicative of long-continued 

 use, as does also the smooth and polished surface about the upper or pointed 

 end. Mr. Schumacher has suggested that the polished portion on many of 

 these stones was occasioned by carrying the stone in the hand when, as he 

 considers, it was fastened to a digging-stick ; but it seems to me impossible 

 to account for the polishing in that way, as many of the specimens exhibit as 

 high a polish.in the little fractures just within the margin of the hole as on the 

 surface about it, which certainly could not have been caused by handling. 

 The high polish given to many of these stones, generally on only half 

 the surface, particularly on those made of the dark steatite and allied min- 



