DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA STONES. 173 



narrowest part is within half an inch of one end of the hole, and is not 

 over half an inch in diameter. The fragment is much weathered, but is 

 evidently a portion of a carefully-worked and symmetrical implement. 

 The other and slightly smaller example is from the shellheap, and is made 

 of steatite. This is a symmetrical little stone, and would naturally be 

 called a spindle-whorl. The hole has been bored from both faces, is one- 

 half an inch in diameter in its smallest part, and does not show any signs 

 of wear. 



One of the specimens from the island of San Clemente is made of 

 basalt, and is of the same thickness as the one just described, and about 

 half an inch greater in diameter. The surface is much decomposed and 

 somewhat battered. The hole is five-eighths of an inch in diameter in the 

 centre, and widens to about an inch at each end. This would have been 

 serviceable as a whorl, a small club-head, or as a " slung-shot." Three 

 others from San Clemente do not differ in size and shape from those 

 already described from Santa Catalina. One is formed of a brown cellu- 

 lar basalt ; another is of steatite. Of these two, onty half of each was 

 found. That of steatite shows as much weathering on its fractured portion 

 as on other parts of the stone, and the part that was formerly polished is still 

 smooth. The third example (P. M. 13521) is of large size, being about 2f 

 inches thick and 4 J in diameter. It is of a hard and somewhat cellular 

 basalt, and weighs forty ounces. The perforation was made from both 

 ends, and has been worn to a slightly oval shape in its centre. The sur- 

 face about one end of the hole is polished as in the examples made of 

 softer material. 



On the island of Santa Cruz Mr. Schumacher collected a number of 

 these perforated stones of depressed globular form, most of which are in 

 the Smithsonian Institution, and not now before me. One of them, how- 

 ever, is represented on Plate X, Fig. 22. The particular interest attached 

 to this specimen is due to the probability that it was fractured and a large 

 piece broken from one side. The fractured surface was afterwards smoothed 

 over. The sides of the hole are nearly straight. Two others from Santa 

 Cruz are in the Peabody Museum (9299, 9390). They were made of a 

 compact basalt, though now it is considerably decomposed. The hole is 



