228 THE STONE AGE IN NEW JERSEY. 
of the little pestle. Their use was unquestionably to prepare the — 
paint used in the decoration of the face and body. Indeed, one _ 
specimen of such mortar and pestle, exhumed with a skeleton 
and some weapons, had a hard cake of reddish clay filling up 
the depression of the mortar, which was the more easily recog- 
nizabie, as the surrounding earth was of a peculiar blue-black color, 
being an admixture of the surface loam and underlying blue trias- 
sic clay that is so abundant in the neighborhood of Trenton, 
New Jersey. 
Of other implements belonging to our prehistoric kitchens, there 
is but little to be said, except of certain large, saddle-shaped 
stones that are claimed to have been used as the “ mills” whereat, 
by the use of large pestles, maize was crushed before being used : 
as food. Certainly several such stones as we refer to were acai a 
rably adapted for just such use ; and we doubt not that to consider 
them as corn-mills is correct. They have invariably been too u- 
wieldy to move from the fields for purposes of illustration; and 
in fact have varied so in shape, that no one illustration would give 
a general idea of the whole set. 
The same remarks will apply to other large stones, that appr 
to have been utilized by the Redman, and are called “ anvils, e 
for want of a more correct designation. Dr. Thomas 5. Stevens 
of Trenton, to whom we are indebted for many favors, has called : 
our attention to one such anvil, which was found on the site of i 
“Indian” village. The stone in question is about twenty inches, 
in height; has an hour-glass contraction at the middle, and b 
level, circular surface at either end of about nine inches 1n li a 
Where contracted at the middle, it measures about five oF ages 
es in diameter. The present shape of the stone, we w : 
to be admirably adapted for use as an anvil, or “ bench ; by? d 
ing it before you, between the legs, and seating yourself p 
ground. Thus positioned, one could easily imagine himself a 
. 
historic arrow maker, resting one surface of a block of J ae i 
ious 
the upper face of the anvil, and striking off the precio™™ Sak 
that a subsequent laborious chipping would transform to, suce 
cate arrowheads as we have figured, Whether such 3% | a vel 
here described, was shaped from a globular boulder or nol}? ae 
difficult question to decide; but judging from the peels 
character of the implement, we consider that it one i 
some resemblance to its present shape, and was afterwards E 
to perfect the uniformity of its hour-glass contraction. ms 
