OBJECTS OF CLAY AND STONE, CULTURES I AND II, NORTH KURGAN. 163 
(e) USEFUL OBJECTS OF STONE, CLAY, AND BONE. 
FROM MIDDLE, LOWER, AND UPPER STRATA, NORTH KURGAN, CULTURES I AND II. 
Whorls of clay.—It is difficult to make any essential distinction between 
the whorls of the middle and lower strata in respect to form, technique, and orna- 
mentation. For that reason I do not mention in detail the points at which they 
were found. The most favored 
form is the conical, with and with- 
out raised edges, and with a deep 
impression on the upper side of 
the whorl, as in N.K. 96 (fig. 341) 
and N.K. 67 (fig. 342). More 
rare is the conical form with con- 
vex top like N.K. 102 (fig. 343); 
and other simpler forms are not 
lacking, as N.K. 191 (fig. 344). 
The technique of decoration 
is restricted to impressions of the 
finger and finger-nails, as well as 
to pricked-in points. In so far as 
we can judge from the abundant 
material thus far obtained, the 
technical differences in the whorls 
of the middle strata were due to 
the instruments used to impress 
the patterns—a point to make 
the dots and a knife or a pin- 
shaped instrument for fine short 

344 343 (< 0.5) 345 (X 0,5) 


341 (< 0.5) 342 (X0.5) 
\¢ 
346 (0.5) 347 
TOCOCOL OL 
OAR 

349 (< 0.5) 350 (X 0.5) 351 (< 0.5) 
strokes. Whether these differences indicate a marked progress in the technique 
can not, of course, be determined from the material in hand. The line pattern 
is for the most part too fine and too closely compressed to have been made with 
QUuwv 
352(X0.75)  353(X05) 354(%0.75)  355(X 0.75) 356(X 0.75) 357(X 0.5) 
> 

359( 0.5) 
the finger-nail. In the whorl N.K. 196 (fig. 345; plate 42, fig. 11), from the lower 
strata, the impressions on the edge are made with the finger; but in the better- 
formed ones of the middle strata (N.K. 51; fig. 346; plate 42, fig. 6), they are 
