71 
of the bone trapezoidal in cross-section; seven specimens are half round 
in cross-section (Plate XV, figure 28) ; thirteen, with the sides a little 
more flattened, have a mixtilinear-triangular cross-section; and five others, 
with the two sides and the back flattened, are triangular in section. One 
of the specimens with flattened back has the whole front, including the 
distal joint, broken off at a slant and the broken edges slightly smoothed. 
Aside from the modification seen on the back and front, none of these 
objects shows any attempt to alter the shape of the distal articular end; 
two specimens, however, have the larger projection of the proximal joint 
partly ground off. 
Besides the small holes near the distal end on the back of the bone, 
eleven specimens have a hole through the front of the same end of the 
bone, and in a few instances the hole seems to have been purposely made; 
one specimen has a hole commenced on the front, and another has the 
beginning of the hole on both front and back. 
One specimen, in addition to the large frontal opening, has two deep 
grooves across this side, both of which expose the marrow cavity of the 
bone. Another specimen (Plate XV, figure 27) has two large holes on the 
front, the one at the proximal end resulting from this end being worked 
down at a slant, the other, which is nearly round, produced by deeply 
grooving the front. Still another specimen has the hole produced by a 
deep, but somewhat shallower, groove across the front. The specimen in 
figure 25 has from two to three transverse grooves on the front, giving it 
a scalloped appearance. 
Aside from the various shapes into which these objects have been 
transformed by grinding, the more special features seen on the front of 
them consist of pits, notches, grooves, and incised and burnt markings, 
all of which possibly served as distinguishing marks. 
Twenty-one specimens, mostly with flattened fronts, have shallow, 
irregularly round pits on the front near the distal extremity of the bone; 
two specimens bear shallow notches on the edge of the large frontal open- 
ing; thirteen have shallow, narrow grooves across the front, which in some 
cases occur only on the edges of the large frontal opening; and twenty-five 
others bear incised lines, some of them merely confused, perhaps adventi- 
tious, scratches. The latter consist either of groups of two or more row T s of 
short, transverse incisions, or of incised lines that extend across the flat- 
tened surface of the bone, those near the proximal end being on the flattened 
edges of the frontal opening. The marks, in two instances deeply incised, 
are from one to six in number. One specimen has incisions along one edge 
of the frontal opening only; another has three marks on one edge and four 
on the other; and a few others have the markings on one of the sides only 
(Plate XV, figure 24) ; there are diagonal lines on another specimen. Two 
specimens, apparently from opposite sides of the foot, have the markings 
so nearly alike as to suggest that they are made from a pair of bones. The 
fronts of thirty-one specimens, including two in Mr. White’s collection, 
bear burnt markings consisting of irregularly round spots (Plate XV, 
figure 28'*, squarish markings along the edge of the flattened frontal sur- 
face, or from one to six transverse bars. Four specimens have the first 
kind of marking; five the second; and nineteen the third kind, the latter 
