PATAGONIAN ARTEFACTS 
125 
of the objects, with the exception of Fig. 8, no. 6 and Fig. io, 
no. 7, which are reduced to one-quarter linear. 
(1) Collection made on the Patagonian coast. 
The material collected at places visited along the coast of 
Patagonia consists principally of unmounted bolas stone- 
weights, implements of bone and of stone, and discoidal 
shell beads. 
The unmounted bolas weights are spheroidal stone balls, 
shaped by ‘pecking’ or abrasion; in some instances the 
surfaces are left unsmoothed, in others the whole surface is 
more or less smoothed by grinding. The stones vary both 
in size and shape. Some (Fig. 1, no. 1) are almost spherical; 
others (Fig. i, no. 2) have the vertical axis slightly longer 
than the horizontal; others, again (Fig. 1, no. 3), exhibit a 
longer horizontal axis with bluntly pointed ends. A groove, 
varying in width from about ^ in. to in., encircles each stone 
vertically, and has been formed by ‘pecking’ the surface, these 
grooves providing a firm attachment for the thongs. The 
owner of an estancia, situated about forty miles inland from 
Santa Cruz, presented one of these hunting weapons in its 
complete mounted state, as used for the capture of the Rhea 
(or ‘South American Ostrich’). This specimen (Fig. i, no. 4) 
consists of two stone weights of different sizes and shapes, 
united by a line of twisted, two-ply raw horse-hide, 7 ft. 8 in. 
long, with a knotted join at the centre. The heavier weight 
is spherical, of a hard, dark-greenish-grey stone, and the 
surface is carefully smoothed by grinding. A strap of raw- 
hide, H in. in width, passes vertically round and grips the 
ball tightly along the groove, the ends of this strap being 
brought together at the top, where they are perforated for the 
cord, and are sewn together with raw hide, and further 
secured with a plaited collar of narrow hide-strip. In order 
to prevent the strap from slipping out of the groove, a broad 
