34 AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS 



occasionally found with one edge .showing the effect of rubbing and wearing. 

 These are rare, however. Some may have been pottery smoothers. Clam 

 shells have been reported which contained central perforations and were 

 identical in appearance with sonic shell pottery scrapers and smoothers col- 

 lected by Mr. M. R. Harrington among the Catawba . Contemporary 

 writers mention the use of knives made of shell. 



Pottery Tempering. This was sometimes done with calcined and pounded 

 shells, hut was uncommon, considering the abundance of the material at 

 hand. Pounded stone or gravel seems to have been more favored. 



Potter// Stamp*. The corrugated edge of a scallop shell was frequently 

 used as a stamp for pottery, as may be seen by examining the potsherds 

 from this region. 



Articles of Boxf. and Antler. 



Objects of bone and antler, while perhaps more abundant here than in 

 Xew England, are far less plentiful in form and number than in the Iro- 

 quoian area. Cut bones are frequent in most shell pits and heaps. They 

 were cut by grooving the bone partly through on all sides, probably with a 

 flint knife, and breaking. 



Bone Aids. These utensils are the most common of all bone articles 

 in this region and are found in almost every part of the area. Some are 

 merely sharpened slivers, but others show a considerable degree of work, 

 and are well finished and polished. They are usually made of deer or other 

 mammal bone, but sometimes from the leg bones of birds. 



In some instances, the joint of the bone is left for a handle, but this is 

 often cut off. Grooved, perforated or decorated bone awls are extremely 

 rare in this region. While it is generally considered that these bone tools 

 were used as awls in sewing leather, as by modern shoemakers, uevertheless, 

 they may have served as forks in removing hot morsels from the pot or for a 

 number of other purposes. The latter supposition is supported by the 

 abundance of bone awls found in some shell pits. The northern Cree of 

 the Hudson Hay region use a similar bone implement as the catching or 

 striking pin in the "cup and ball" game. 



Bone Needles. These are rare, but found in most localities. They are 

 generally made of the curved ribs of mammals and are six or eight inches 

 long, or even longer. They are generally broken across the eve, which is 

 usually midway between the ends. A few with the perforation at one end 

 have been reported. 



Bone Arrow Points, usually hollow and conical in shape, have been found, 



