340 THE INDIAN OCCUPANCY 



materials which the Indians used in their manufactures. Orna- 

 ments of fragile shell, frail clay kettles, needle-pointed bone 

 awls and fish-hooks, and thin hoe blades made of spongy antler, 

 all owe their present existence to the protection afforded them 

 by graves, or to the preservative nature of the refuse- heaps. 

 That they are to be found in the graves and refuse-heaps at all 

 is the result of the burial customs and household usages of the 

 aborigines. 



The workmanship shown on the artifacts is usually excel- 

 lent. Compared with similar articles from other parts of the 

 United States they evince a skill and dexterity on the part of 

 their makers, not excelled by any. 



The skill of the ancient craftsmen was perhaps made possi- 

 ble or enhanced by the excellence and abundance of the materials 

 from which he could choose. In keenness of edge, in neatness 

 of finish, and ease in working, the local chert is far superior to 

 the tough, stubborn, blunt- edged quartzites, rhyolites and argil- 

 lites of the east coast. For many purposes the bones, teeth and 

 horns of the animals which were abundant here, afforded mate- 

 rials that repaid skillful treatment. The local clays, also, were 

 excellently adapted to the uses of the primitive potter. 



Owing to the existence of refuse-heaps, the methods of man- 

 ufacture of nearly every artifact can be easily demonstrated, for 

 in the refuse may occur, not only the implement itself, but 

 similar implements in an unfinished state, the raw material from 

 which it was made and the debris attending its manufacture. 



The artifacts found in the region may be referred to two 

 great classes. To the first class belong all those articles which 

 the Indians obtained from Europeans, or which show traces of 

 European influence, though of primitive manufacture. The 

 second class includes all those articles which were made by the 

 Indians themselves, uninfluenced by Europeans. To this second 

 class the term "primitive" will be applied in this monograph. 

 The two classes of articles may exist together on the same site, 

 even in the same grave; and it is certain that even after the In- 

 dians had become practically dependent upon the white traders, 

 they still made and used many of their primitive Stone Age 

 artifacts. 



