Chapter 5

Fig. 97.—Discoidal stone, with perforation.

c.With a secondary depression in each cavity.Figure 98(yellow quartz, highly polished, from Fulton county, Georgia) is typical. There is also one of quartzite, with a secondary depression in one side only, from Roane county, Tennessee, which may be supposed, from this and other imperfections, to be unfinished.

2. Edges of concavity rubbed off blunt. These are grouped simply by form, as the specimens from Kanawha valley, West Virginia, and northeastern Kentucky are nearly all roughly finished, quite differentfrom the smooth or polished ones from farther south. Some are worked out into the form of a ring, and there is every stage between that form and the flat disk whose sides show no trace of pecking.Figure 99(quartzite, from Sevier county, Tennessee) illustrates a typical example, roughly worked but entirely perforated, andfigure 97shows the same type in another form.

Fig. 98.—Discoidal stone, with secondary depression.

Fig. 99.—Discoidal stone, in form of a ring.

B.Flat or slightly concave sides, edges straight and at right angles to the sides; diameter, 1⅝ to 5 inches. The type shown infigure 100is of sandstone from Lauderdale county, Alabama.

Fig. 100.—Discoidal stone.

Fig. 101.—Discoidal stone.

C.Sides flat; edges straight, sometimes rounding off into the sides; diameter, 2¼ to 6 inches; thickness, three-quarters to 2¼ inches. A number from southeastern Tennessee, especially the smaller ones, are quite rough, being merely pecked or chipped into shape with no subsequentrubbing.Figure 101(chalcedony, from a mound in Monroe county, Tennessee) represents the type. The material is variable.

D.Like the last, except much smaller. Very few are polished over the entire surface; some are rubbed more or less on the edges or sides, but a majority have the edge rough as it was chipped or pecked out; many have either the edge or sides in the natural state. From those smoothly polished to those very rudely worked the gradation is such that no dividing line can be drawn. This is true, also, of the smaller specimens of other types. Some of the quartzite specimens are very loose in texture. From seven-eighths to 2 inches in diameter and one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch thick.

Fig. 102.—Discoidal stone, convex.

E.Convex on both sides, edges straight. One of white quartz from Caldwell county, North Carolina, has the sides much curved, making the stone very thick in proportion to its width; there is a deep pit on each side, the entire surface being highly polished. Diameter, 2 to 3½inches; thickness, three-fourths to an inch and a half. Illustrated byfigure 102(of porphyry, from a grave in Caldwell county, North Carolina).

F.Same form as the above; 1¼ to 2 inches in diameter, one-half to seven-eighths of an inch thick.

Fig. 103.—Discoidal stone.

G.Flat or slightly convex on one or both sides, edge straight, one side wider than the other. Some have the edge battered or chipped and it is always at the angle of the edge with the wider side. From 1⅝ to 3½ inches in diameter, and three-fourths to an inch and a halfthick. The specimen shown infigure 103(of compact quartzite, from Bartow county, Georgia) is typical. The material is quite diverse.

There are also of this type, one of very hard black stone (not identified) from Red River county, Texas, three-fourths of an inch in diameter; one of barite from Bartow county, Georgia, one inch in diameter, three-fourths inch thick; and one of granite, from Chester county, South Carolina, an inch in diameter. There are also one of quartzite from Drew county, Arkansas, with a shallow pit on each side; one of the same material from southeastern Tennessee, with a deep pit gouged in smaller side; and from the same locality, three of quartzite, one of quartz, and one of sandstone, each with a deep pit in the larger side. All of these are small and none of them polished.

Fig. 104.—Discoidal stone.

H.Convex sides and curved edges; size as in groupG. The type (figure 104) is of quartz, from Caldwell county, North Carolina.

I.Same form, rough and not polished; 1 to 2¾ inches in diameter, one-half to 1 inch thick.

J.Sides slightly convex, edge slightly curved; 2¼ to 3½ inches in diameter, three-quarters to an inch and a half thick.

K.Sides flat; edges convex; roughly finished, no polish; 1⅛ to 2¼ inches in diameter, three-eighths to three-fourths of an inch thick.

L.Not polished; roughly chipped edges; 2 to 3½ inches in diameter.

M.Edges V-shape; 1¾ to 2½ inches diameter, 1 to 1½ inches thick. The type (figure 105) is of granite, from Randolph county, Illinois, with insunk pecked sides and polished edge. A specimen from Kanawha valley, West Virginia, is of flint, with only the edge worked; apparentlya hammer. One from Craighead county, Arkansas, has flat sides and the entire surface polished; another from McMinn county, Tennessee, is also polished entire. A good specimen from Cocke county, Tennessee, is of flint, one side rubbed flat, the other a rounded cone, highly polished.

Fig. 105.—Discoidal stone, with V-shaped edges.

N.Sides hollowed out; edges straight or slightly curved; very thick; used as mortars, hammers, or pestles. This form gradually merges into disk-shaped, pitted, or entire dressed hammers, which in turn run into the ordinary hammerstones. The types are figures 106 (quartzite, from Bradley county, Tennessee) and 107 (quartzite, from Nicholas county, Kentucky). There are in this group from eastern Tennessee three of quartzite, 2¼ by 4½ inches, 4¼ by 5¾ inches, and 1¾ by 3¼ inches, and one of granite, 2¾ by 3 inches; from Caldwell county, North Carolina, one of granite; and from Montgomery county, North Carolina, three of quartzite. The last four are evidently hammers or pestles. In addition there is a specimen from Jackson county, Illinois, of ferruginous sandstone, 3 inches in diameter. On one side there is a pit and on the other a shallow, mortar-like cavity extending entirely across.

Fig. 106.—Discoidal stone, used as mortar.

Fig. 107.—Discoidal stone, probably used as hammer.

O.One side flat, the other rounded; of convenient size for grasping. In some the bottom is quite smooth. There is sometimes a pit in one or both sides, more frequently in the bottom. They were used as mullers or pestles; in the latter, either the side or the edge may have been the pounding surface. The line between these implements and the cylindrical, dome-topped pestles can not be drawn (seefigure 91).

P.Sides flat; edge convex; same size and use as last.

Q.From southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia there are many disk-shape fragments of pottery, small, thin, and coarse, with the edges roughly chipped; and from northeastern Kentucky there are similar pieces, except that they have been fashioned from fragments of limestone and sandstone. These specimens are illustrated byfigure 108(pottery, from a mound in Bartow county, Georgia).

Fig. 108.—Discoidal pottery fragment.

It has been a puzzle to archeologists to assign to any class the peculiar stones called “spuds.” They are usually of a comparatively soft material, carefully worked and polished, and bear no marks of rough usage. On the other hand, they seem too large for ornament. Perhaps their office may have been in some ceremony or game. Something similar in form seems to be denoted in the following extracts:

Col. James Smith81says, speaking of the Indians of western Pennsylvania, that as soon as the elm bark will strip in spring, the squaws, after finding a tree that will do, cut it down, and with a crooked stick, broad and sharp at the end, take the bark off the tree, and of this bark make vessels. The Twana Indians, who formerly lived at the south end of Hoods canal, Washington, in barking logs use a heavy iron implement about 3 feet long, widened and sharpened at the end;82and the tanbark workers of our day use an instrument of somewhat similar form.

The ordinary spud is too weak to endure such usage, though it is claimed by old people living in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia, that in the last century the Indians in that locality used an implement of this pattern for stripping the bark from trees. The implement may have been used in dressing hides, the hole being for attachment of a handle.

Fig. 109.—Spud.

A celt of argillite, highly polished, from Loudon county, Tennessee, of the pattern shown infigure 64, has a neatly drilled cylindrical hole about a third of the way from the top; but such cases are unusual. The spuds may be divided into three general classes, as follows:

A.Blade circular in outline, including 180 degrees or more, or semielliptical with either axis transverse; sides of stem straight or slightly curved, parallel or slightly tapering to top, which is either straight or slightly rounded; shoulder nearly at right angles to stem, with sharp or rounded corners or sometimes barbed; stem and blade not differing greatly in length. The type of the class, presented infigure 109, is of clay slate, from a mound in Monroe county, Tennessee. The other six specimens in the collection were distributed as shown in the table.

B.Lower part of the blade a half circle or less; top square or slightly rounded; stem rapidly widening, with increasing curve to the blade, making an angle with it; stem and blade nearly the same length. A specimen of green slate, from Mississippi county, Arkansas, is illustrated infigure 110. Another, of compact quartzite, comes from Loudon county, Tennessee.

Fig. 110.—Spud.

C.Handle or stem round; very much longer than the blade, which is semicircular or semielliptical, with square or barbed shoulders. Illustrated infigure 111(probably of chloritic slate, from Prairie county, Arkansas).

The specimens known as plummets vary considerably in form, size, and degree of finish, indicating diversity of purpose, and different writers have assigned to them various uses.

According to Abbott, one of these relics was found at Salem, in a mortar.83Stevens says, quoting from Schoolcraft, that the Pennacook Indians used sinkers very much like a plummet in shape.84In Florida very rough plummets with deep grooves are found in the shell mounds, which were no doubt used as sinkers. The Indians of southern California use them as medicine stones to bring rain; the Eskimo use similar stones as sinkers, but have them perforated at the end. The larger objects of this form may have been used as pestles.85They might be made very efficient in twisting thread, as they revolve for a considerable time when set in motion.

Fig. 111.—Spud.

The general form is ovoid, sometimes quite slender, sometimes almost round; the ends may be either blunt or pointed. They may be grooved near the middle or near either the larger or smaller end. Some have two grooves, some are only partially grooved, while others have the groove extending lengthwise. There are forms that differ somewhat from this description, but such are rare.

Fig. 112.—Plummet, grooved near one end.

Fig. 113.—Plummet, double-grooved.

Many small and otherwise unworked waterworn pebbles and pieces of steatite pots from southeastern Tennessee and from Montgomery county, North Carolina, have grooves near the middle or near one end; they were probably applied to some of the uses for which plummets were intended.

The plummets in the Bureau collection may be grouped as follows:

A.Grooved near smaller end. The types are illustrated infigure 112(sandy limestone, from a mound in Catahoula parish, Louisiana), andfigure 113(hematite, double grooved, with notches cut in various places, from a mound in Kanawha valley, West Virginia). Other specimens are, one from Arkansas county, Arkansas, of sandstone, and one each from Brown and Randolph counties, Illinois, both of hematite.

B.Grooved near larger end. A good example, of hematite, is from Kanawha valley, West Virginia, with a second groove partially around the middle.

C.Grooved near the middle. The class is represented by a beautiful specimen (figure 114) of hematite, with the groove much polished and irregular, and a deep notch cut in one end, from Ross county, Ohio. Another specimen, from Kanawha valley, West Virginia, is a double conical implement of hematite, elliptical in section with both ends ground off on flatter sides only.

Fig. 114.—Plummet, grooved near middle.

Fig. 115.—Plummet, grooved lengthwise.

D.Grooved lengthwise. This class includes a plummet of quartzite, from Yellowstone park (figure 115), and another of hematite, much shorter than the Yellowstone specimen and with blunt ends, from Kanawha valley, West Virginia.

Fig. 116.—Plummet, grooveless, perforated.

Fig. 117.—Plummet, double cone in shape.

E.Grooveless. A good specimen (figure 116) is of quartz and mica, elliptical in section, pointed at ends with one end perforated, from Yellowstone park; another, from Randolph county, Illinois, of hematite, rough, perhaps unfinished.

F.Double cone, with one end ground off flat and hollowed out. The type (figure 117) is of granite, one of three from Savannah, Georgia.

G.Top flattened and hollowed out; sides incurving to the middle; lower half a hemisphere. The class is represented byfigure 118(quartzite, from Randolph county, Illinois), andfigure 119(sandstone, from Adams county, Ohio). From Kanawha valley there is one of hematite, similar in form to the last.

Fig. 118.—Plummet.

H.Ovoid, with the smaller end ground off flat.86A good specimen of this class (figure 120) is of magnetite, from Caldwell county, North Carolina. From Savannah, Georgia, there are two of sandstone, both smaller than the type and rough; from Kanawha valley there is one of quartzite, nearly half ground away, leaving almost a hemisphere; and from eastern Tennessee there are one of magnetite and one of quartzite, the latter nearly round.

I.Cylindrical. A unique specimen, from a mound in Loudon county, Tennessee, is illustrated infigure 121. It is of sandstone; a short cylinder with incurved sides, each end terminating in a blunt cone.

Fig. 119.—Plummet.Fig. 120.—Plummet, end ground flat.Fig. 121.—Plummet.

Fig. 119.—Plummet.

Fig. 120.—Plummet, end ground flat.

Fig. 121.—Plummet.

Figure 122represents a piece of smoothly dressed steatite from Desha county, Arkansas, with a two-thirds round section, the ends rounded, with a groove near one end, which may be classed with the plummets. There are pieces of sandstone from the same locality which connect this pattern with the simpler “boat-form” stones, except that the flat side is ground smooth instead of being hollowed. This is only one of numerous examples where the shapes of implements whose “typical forms” seem utterly dissimilar merge into one another so gradually that no line of demarkation can be drawn.

Fig. 122.—Plummet, cylindrical.

Fig. 123.—Cone.Fig. 124.—Cone.

Fig. 123.—Cone.

Fig. 124.—Cone.

The relics known as “cones” have the base flat and the side curving slightly; usually the curve extends regularly over the top, but sometimes the apex is rubbed off flat. The conic surface may form an angle with the base, or the line of junction may be rounded into a curve. They vary considerably in thickness, some being nearly flat, others having a height equal to the diameter of the base. One of steatite from Savannah, as also one of sandstone from Kanawha valley, has a slight pit or depression on the flat side. Among the best examples areone (figure 123) of steatite from Bradley county, Tennessee, and another (figure 124) of hematite from Loudon county, in the same state; one (figure 125) of compact quartzite from a mound in Ogle county, Illinois, and a fourth specimen (figure 126) of granite from Kanawha valley, West Virginia. The distribution is as follows:

Fig. 125.—Cone.Fig. 126.—Cone.

Fig. 125.—Cone.

Fig. 126.—Cone.

Hemispheric stones, like the cones, can receive a name only from the form and not from any known or imagined use to which they could have been applied.

All such specimens in the collection, except one, are from Kanawha valley, and of hematite; many if not most of them have been ground down from the nodule, and were probably paint stones originally; at least, the material rubbed from them was used as paint while the maker had their final form in view. One, however, has been pecked into shape and is entirely without polish. In all, the base is flat and varies in outline from almost a circle to a narrow ellipse. A section of the stone parallel to either axis of the base varies from a little more to a little less than a semicircle. Typical forms, both from Bracken county, Kentucky, are illustrated infigure 127.

Fig. 127.—Hemispheres.

The specimen, illustrated infigure 128(yellow quartz, from a mound in Kanawha valley) is intermediate between cones and hemispheres. The sides are polished, while the flat bottom and rounded top are roughened. As it has faint red stains, it may have been used as a paint-muller.

Fig. 128.—Hemisphere.

The articles known as paint stones scarcely come under the head of implements. Some of the hematite pieces are incipient celts, hemispheres, or cones; but most of them were used merely to furnish paint, at any rate until rubbed down quite small. They are of every degree of firmness, some being as brittle as dry clay, others like iron. Most pieces in the collection are from Kanawha valley, but others are from southeastern Tennessee, northeastern Arkansas, and Caldwell county, North Carolina. From the last-named section, as well as from Chester county, South Carolina, and McMinn county, Tennessee, come pieces of graphite more or less rubbed; and one has been sent in from Elmore county, Alabama.

Fig. 129.—Paint stone.

The specimen illustrated infigure 129, from a mound, is a good example of the manner in which the harder hematite was ground.

The so-called “ceremonial stones” are variously subdivided and named by different writers. They are supposed to have been devoted to religious, superstitious, medical, emblematic, or ceremonial purposes; to be badges of authority, insignia of rank, tokens of valorous deeds, or perhaps some sort of heraldic device; in short, the uses to which they might, in their different forms, be assigned, are limited only by the imagination.

According to Nilsson the ancient Scandinavians wore “victory stones” suspended around their necks,87and the Eskimo wear charms and amulets to bring success in fishing and hunting.88Adair (1775) says that the American Archi-magus wore a breastplate made of a white conch-shell, with two holes bored in the middle of it, through which he put the ends of an otter-skin strap and fastened a buck-horn button to the outside of each.89An explanation of the purpose of many of the smaller perforated stones also may be found in Nilsson’s remark90that the small ovoid or ellipsoid ones were used as buttons; a string being tied to the robe at one end, run through the hole and tied in a knot.

The various Indians of Guiana in their leisure hours often fashion highly ornamental weapons and implements which they never use except ceremonially, but keep proudly at home for show.91

So, too, the Yurok and Hupa Indians of California, as well as some of the tribes of Oregon, have very large spearheads or knives, which are not designed for use, but only to be produced on the occasion of a great dance. The larger weapons are wrapped in skin to protect the hand; the smaller ones are glued to a handle. Some are said to be 15 inches long.92The Oregon Indians believed the possession of a large obsidian knife brought long life and prosperity to the tribe owning it.93

Some of the wild tribes of the interior have something which they regard as the Jews did the Ark of the Covenant. Sometimes it is known; again it is kept secret. The Cheyenne had a bundle of arrows; the Ute a little stone image, and the Osage a similar stone.94The Kiowa had a carved wooden image, representing a human face; the Ute captured it, and the Kiowa offered very great rewards for its return; but the Ute, believing the Kiowa powerless to harm them so long as it was retained, refused to give it up.95

The North Carolina Indians, when they went to war, carried with them their idol, of which they told incredible stories and asked counsel;96and as a token of rank or authority, the Virginia Indians suspended on their breasts, by a string of beads about their neck, a square plate of copper.97These were worn as badges of authority. The native tribes, from our first acquaintance with them, evinced a fondness for insignia of this kind.98

Simply for convenience the ceremonial stones in the Bureau collection will here be divided into two general classes. The first, comprising those pierced through the shortest diameter, will be called gorgets, which name, like that of celt, has no particular meaning, but is in common use. The second class will comprise all others, which will have some name that may or may not be suitable to their form, but by which they are usually called. In this class are included boat-shape stones, banner stones, picks, spool-shape ornaments, and bird-shape stones, as well as engraved tablets or stones.99

The relics commonly called gorgets have been found in Europe; they may be convex on one side, concave on the other, and are supposed tobe for bracers.100It is said that the Miami Indians wore similar plates of stone to protect their wrists from the bowstring.101Herndon and Gibbon remark that a gold ornament in shape like a gorget, but not pierced, is worn on the forehead by some of the Amazon Indians.102According to Schoolcraft the so-called gorgets were sometimes used as twine-twisters;103but Abbott holds that while some may have been twine-twisters, or may have been used for condensing sinews or evening bowstrings (that is, reducing the strings to a uniform diameter), most were simply ornaments, as they are generally found on the breast of a buried body.104Stevens is even more conservative, holding that they were neither twine-twisters nor devices for condensing sinews or evening bowstrings, as they show no marks of wear in the holes.105

Some writers suppose the gorgets to have been shuttles; but this supposition can hardly be entertained, although it is true, according to Chase, that the Oregon Indians passed thread with a curved bone needle.106As twine-twisters they would be about as awkward as anything that could be devised. As to evening bowstrings, it would seem that if a string were too large in places to pass through a hole it could not be pulled through; pounding and rolling the wet string with a smooth stone, or some such means, would be the remedy. The bracer theory is plausible; but no one seems ever to have seen a gorget used for this purpose.

Few of the gorgets in the Bureau collection show such marks of wear around the edges of the hole as would be made by a cord; but the majority are thus worn at the middle, where the hole is smallest. Some specimens among every lot are not perforated, or only partially so; the drilling seems to have been the last stage of the work. The hole is almost always drilled from both sides, and the few in which it goes entirely through from one side would probably have had it enlarged later from the other. A number are fragments of larger gorgets, the pieces having been redrilled.

Some of the specimens have various notches and incised lines, the latter being sometimes in tolerably regular order; but there is not the slightest indication that these marks had any meaning or were intended for any other purpose than to add to the ornamental appearance of the stone.

If they were to be worn at the belt or on any part of the dress they could easily have been fastened by a knotted string, or if the wearer desired he could have an ornamental button of some kind. If suspended around the neck, in order to make them lie flat against the breast they probably had a short cord passed through the perforation and tiedabove the top of the object, the suspending cord being passed through the loop thus formed.

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