GROOVED STONES. 



203 



grooved axe (P. M. 13431) identical in form with many found in the Atlan- 

 tic States, and, so far as I am aware, the first implement of this character 

 from California. It was made of a very hard stone by pecking-, hammering, 

 and polishing, in the same way as those on the Atlantic coast were formed. 

 Fig. 7/i is a reduced representation of the axe, Fig. 75. 



and shows its peculiar shape. The specimen 

 is 10 inches in length, 3 J in width along the 

 groove, and 1J in thickness at the groove. 

 The head is slightly bulging and the lower 

 portion is pointed. The surface of this imple- 

 ment is smooth and greasy to the touch, owing 

 to the particles of steatite which have become 

 firmly united to the stone. This fact, taken in 

 connection with the place where- it was obtained, 

 is pretty conclusive evidence that the imple- 

 ment was used for working upon the steatite 

 in the manufacture of the many articles made 

 from that material, and, although it would be 

 naturally classed with the stone axes, its use 

 was unquestionably more as a pecking than a 

 cutting instrument. — F. W. P.] 



Figs. 76 and 77 represent examples of com- 

 mon grooved pebbles, such as occur every- 

 where where stone implements are found. As 

 is the case with several other patterns of stone 

 implements, a great many uses have been sug- 

 gested for these stones, and it is very likely 



from their general adaptability that they were in Groove r.'rro of stone, -j. 



some instances used as weapons and in others as implements for several dif- 

 ferent purposes. Consequently they have been designated as elub-lieads, 

 slung-shots, net-weights, sinkers, and hammer-stones. They are known as 

 net-weights and hammers in the Eastern States, and occur in great abun- 

 dance in New Jersey. That they were in common use as net-sinkers is shown 

 by the fact that numbers of them are still occasionally found in the beds of 



