Ohio History Journal

THE MANUFACTURE AND           USE OF ABORIGINAL

STONE IMPLEMENTS.

 

PROBABLY no other equal area in the Union has fur-

nished so great a number and variety of the so-called

"Indian Relics," as has been found within the southern

half of Ohio and the adjacent portions of Kentucky and

West Virginia.

Although few persons have made any particular study

of them, curiosity in regard to them is active among all

classes, and the successful collector often finds life made

a burden by continual questions concerning the source of

the material of which they are made, the method of their

manufacture, and the uses to which they were put. To

answer these questions fully, would require a large

volume; but it is possible to enlighten the mystery con-

siderably without laying such a tax on the reader's

patience, and I shall endeavor here to assist both the

collector and his questioner.

It may be not amiss to state at the beginning, that I

spent two winters in carefully studying the collection of

the Bureau of Ethnology in preparing a paper on the

"Types and Geographical Distribution of Stone Imple-

ments," which will appear in a future volume of their

reports; and the present article is based largely upon that

paper, though, of course, a very brief abstract of it.

There being no perceptible difference in material,

form, or finish, between specimens from mounds and those

of the same class found on the surface, the explanation

that belongs to the one will apply equally well to the

other.

While the articles of bone and wood are comparatively rare

among these relics, their scarcity must be attributed to

their perishable nature; for when we remember the ease

with which they are wrought, it is reasonable to suppose

514

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Aboriginal Stone Implements.          515

 

that a majority of aboriginal implements were made of

these materials.

Leaving out of consideration, however, these softer

substances, and referring only to stone - suitable for so

many purposes for which they would not answer at all-

the exceeding abundance of these relics has always been,

to me, the greatest mystery about them; fields which have

been carefully gleaned year after year by keen-sighted

collectors, until it would seem impossible that a single

specimen could remain, still reward the diligent searcher

with desirable objects after every plowing or freshet;

while every old meadow put in cultivation, every forest

cleared away, opens up a new source of supply for the

archaeological cabinet.

What could have been the object in making so many?

Does it indicate occupancy for a long period of time; or a

disregard of work or time that led the user to make a new

weapon or other implement, rather than search for one

lost or mislaid; or a superstitious fear of using what be-

longed to a previous generation? Does it imply a popu-

lation so numerous that the loss of even the great num-

bers of specimens we find, was considered a trivial matter;

or so sparse that such things as are found, except on village

sites, were lost in wandering about through the forests?

Does it mean that the users migrated so unexpectedly, or

to such a great distance, that it was impossible for them

to take such property along with them; or that they faded

from existence in the neighborhood where their remains are

found? And in either event, what led to such result-

famine, pestilence, or the encroachments of implacable

enemies ?

Another perplexing question is, Who made them? Dr.

Abbott and others have found a paleolithic man, and

another whom they consider akin to, if not identical with,

the Eskimo; we have also the Mound Builder, and the

pre-historic Indian; and then there is "Lo."    All of

whom, separate and independent varieties of the genus

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516    Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

homo, according to various authors, lived, and moved, and

made their relics for us to worry over.

For my part, I confess ignorance of all these matters;

and shall avoid controversy by calling the maker Primo-

genus, letting others decide as to what particular "first

family" he belonged, and what may have been his ulti-

mate fate; and shall fix his habitat, for the purposes of

this paper, in the Scioto Valley amid the great earth-

works where the evidences of his handicraft are so numer-

ous and so varied.

*       *      *       *       *      *       *

As to the sources of his materials. When he needed a

hard, tough, heavy stone, he went to a convenient gravel

pit, or to the shores of the nearest stream, where he had

no difficulty in finding a piece of granite, diorite, or

similar rock. Wherever glacial deposits occur, stone of

this nature is to be found in great abundance. The only

search necessary was to find one approaching in shape

the article he wished to make, so as to avoid extra work.

Slate for ornaments, pipes, and such uses, he could find

in the glacial drift, plentifully toward the north, but grad-

ually diminishing in quantity toward the south; the wear

and tear that would only polish a chert pebble would

soon grind slate to powder, hence its rare occurrence this

far south.

Hematite was found in nodules in the coal fields of the

Kanawha Valley and Eastern Ohio; and cannel coal could

also be obtained at some points in the same regions.

Some coveted stones required journeys of many days'

length beyond his accustomed limits, hence worked pieces

are found in small quantities only; as steatite and mica,

which he must seek from the Alleghenies and beyond;

catlinite, from  the "pipe-stone quarries;" copper, from

Michigan; and galena, (probably) from Wisconsin or Illi-

nois.

Materials such as these were very suitable for making

what are known as pecked or polished instruments; but to

• 3
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.         517

 

obtain the sharp cutting edge of which there was constant

need, Primogenus required what is popularly known as

"flint;" this name, as commonly used, is made to em-

brace a wide range of allied rock, as agate, chalcedony,

hornstone, and chert- even obsidian and quartz being

sometimes included, though of course not by those at all

versed in minerals.  The word "flints" has come into

quite general use as a descriptive term                                 for all imple-

ments made of the varieties named.                                     They are, as a

class, called chipped implements, because chipping or

flaking is the only satisfactory way in which such mate-

rial can be worked.

While, in this region, flint (in the sense given above)

may be found here and there in the limestone sections,

it is not until well up toward the coal measures that it

begins to occur in any considerable quantities; beds of it

--seldom more than a few acres in extent, however-are

to be found at intervals from  Mahoning county (Ohio)

south and southwest into the country beyond the Ohio,

many of them having been quarried in pre-historic times.

In Coshocton county, on the Walhonding, near Warsaw,

are some very extensive "diggings;" the flint is greatly

diversified in texture and color, some of it having a closer

resemblance to the "honey-colored" true flint of France

than any other I have ever seen from American localities.

The most extensive deposit, not only in Ohio, but

probably in this country, is what is known as "Flint

Ridge," lying between Newark and Zanesville. The flint

forms the cap-rock of a hill for a distance of ten miles, and

for almost its entire length this hill is scarred with the

trenches and pits left by the ancient diggers.

The stone, though varying in different parts, is princi-

pally of three kinds--buhr-stone, banded jasper, and

chalcedony.  Among the latter may be found varieties

from almost crystal clearness to very dark mottled, much

of it being mistaken for moss-agate, even by experts; the

typical, translucent, bluish gray or "tendon-color;" and

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518   Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

from snowy-white to deep black, along with all shades of

red, blue, green, yellow and brown, and sometimes a frag-

ment almost purple.  Some pieces which I have polished

exceed in brilliancy, delicacy and combination of color-

ing, any agates I have ever seen. A person familiar with

the stone will recognize it at once, wherever found, as it

differs in appearance from that belonging to any other

known locality.  The immense amount of excavation

proves that it was in great demand among the aborigines;

and as showing the distance to which it was carried, I

have found worked specimens of it in Indiana, Kentucky,

at the head of the Kanawha, and on the Allegheny near

the New York State line.   Many pieces of it have also

been found in mounds.

Primogenus had probably learned from experience that

he would have some difficulty in making arrows of such

pieces as he could gather up along the outcrop of the flint.

The blow that will split off a flake from a "green" piece

will shatter a "dry" piece into fragments-a fact well

known to Ohio hunters of the flint-lock period, who soon

discovered that a gun flint picked up on the surface had

to be soaked in oil for several weeks "to make it tough."

I believe that many if not most caches of "turtle-backs"

are simply unfinished pieces, buried to keep them in work-

able condition until needed.

Examinations made in these "diggings" in 1884, led

me to the following conclusions as to the way in which

the pre-historic man carried on his work:

He first removed the overlying    stratum  of earth,

which is sometimes nine or ten feet in thickness.  This

was no slight task, for after going down a foot or two, the

clay in some places is so hard that it digs like frozen

ground; and we must bear in mind that he probably

had only wooden tools-at least I have never found any

piece of stone which appears to have been used for

digging.  On reaching the flint a large fire was made on

it, which caused the rock to shatter; water probably being

• 5
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.         519

 

thrown on to hasten the work.    Removing such pieces as

could be detached, the process was repeated if necessary,

until the limestone below was reached and a hole made

large enough to work in.

The burnt portion being all broken off and thrown out

of the way, clay was plastered along the upper half of the

flint to protect it from the heat, and a fire built in the

bottom  of the hole against the lower part.    The frag-

ments thus loosened being pried out, a shelf-like pro-

jection was left above.  With large boulders, Primogenus

broke off this upper, unburned portion and carried it out

to some convenient level spot, where, with smaller ham-

mers, the blocks were broken to a suitable size for work-

ing. It is a singular fact that no arrow-points or other

specimens were made where these blocks were broken up,

but the small pieces were always carried to another spot

-sometimes only a few rods away. They were next

dressed down with still smaller hammers until of the

desired size, and then completed as will be explained

further along.

From the appearance of the trenches remaining, it

would seem that the work was sometimes carried along

continuously for several hundred yards; at other times

only a single pit was dug, so that only a few square feet

of the stone could have been uncovered.

The vast quantities of chips, broken arrow-points,

knives, etc., found at various places in the vicinity of this

flint bed, show that most of the material was worked up

on the spot; but the great number of flakes and apparent-

ly unfinished specimens, found at considerable distances

away-sometimes a hundred miles or more-indicate that,

after specimens had been reduced in weight as much as

was possible by hastily chipping them down to the stage

where more careful methods became necessary, a supply

was taken away to be brought to the desired form as

occasion required.

I may anticipate here that so far as the "work-shops"

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520    Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

at Flint Ridge are concerned, Primogenus, in getting his

blocks into shape, always struck off the flakes and spalls

with a stone hammer.   Hundreds of these hammers, from

the large boulder of two hundred pounds to the little round

ball of two ounces, all used in some stage of the work,

from  the quarrying to the last chipping, may be found

scattered around. The hammer always leaves an unmis-

takable mark on the core and flake.  In the final stages

of the work he probably used some of the methods de-

scribed below.

*      *      *      *      *      *      *

Having shown where he could obtain his material, it is

next in order to tell how he could turn it to some use.

It is a fixed belief with many that at least the finer

of the relics found in such numbers could have been made

only with metal tools, and their abundance is held to

prove that Primogenus knew of some metal much harder

and of better temper than anything known in these later

times; for, it is argued, not even a file, the hardest of our

tools, will make any impression on some of them; there-

fore, they were made with something much harder than

our best steel.  Some authors assert that Primogenus had

a way of hardening copper to the necessary degree, and

persons are not wanting who claim to have seen pieces so

treated; of course nothing of the sort has ever been dis-

covered.

The truth is that such people argue in direct opposition

to the evidence; the great plenty of stone implements is

positive proof that Primogenus knew nothing whatever of

the economic use of metals. If he could have made one

such tool, he could nave made more; and having them, he

would not waste his time in making articles much less

serviceable than the tools themselves-as if a man would

use a hammer to break a stone to a convenient size for

driving a nail, instead of driving it with the hammer at

once.

• 7
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.          521

 

So it is evident, that in working stone the pre-historic

man must have used tools of the same material.

*       *      *      *       *

His methods of work can best be understood from state-

ments by eye-witnesses of the modern Indian methods.

The statements are from so many sources that no refer-

ence to the various authorities will be attempted; and

will be condensed into the least space possible.

In making large or heavy articles, as axes, pestles, etc.,

that did not require careful or delicate work from the be-

ginning, he used a hard, tough pebble, preferring diorite

or some form of quartz. With this he would knock off

chips and spalls from his inchoate implement until he had

removed as much of the useless portion as he could in

this way; then with light blows he pecked over the entire

surface until he had brought it to the correct outline

on every side.  With a piece of gritty sandstone he ground

away the marks of the hammer, and finally rubbed off all

rough places and scratches with a softer, finer-grained

stone than the first, and thus gave the specimen a smooth

surface with more or less polish.  All instruments for

cutting or splitting had the edge made sharp and smooth

by rubbing, as soon as the form admitted-often before

the hammer marks were effaced from other portions; and

if a groove was needed, it was made as early as possible.

Ornaments and pipes were sometimes made in a simi-

lar way, but often were fashioned entirely by rubbing,

especially if made of brittle materials. Those of intricate

design were apparently carved by means of a pointed flint, set

in a handle and struck with a hammer, as a marble worker

uses his chisel, the final polish being given with fine sandstone

worked to a suitable shape.

When a hole was required, as in a pipe, tube, or orna-

ment, it was usually made after the article was otherwise

completed, unless its form was such as would allow it to

be easily broken; in which case it would be drilled earlier.

For drilling-tools, Primogenus used a smooth, straight

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522   Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

stick, a cane-stem, a piece of bone or horn, a flint, or a

piece of sandstone.   He revolved his drill by simply

holding it between his hands and rubbing them back and

forth, or he used his bow. There were two ways in which

he worked the latter; he either twisted the string two or

three times around the drill and moved the bow at right

angles to it; or he made a hole in the bow and slipped it

down over the drill, to the top of which he fastened the

string, and then  caused it to revolve by a pumping

motion.  The bow drill required that the top be steadied

in some way.    For drilling thin pieces, as the slate

gorgets, a flint or sandstone drill was set in a shaft; larger

articles, as pipes or tubes, were perforated with the other

materials named.  In drilling very small pieces, as beads

for example, a stem of grass was sometimes rolled along

the thigh with the right hand, and the article to be bored

held against its point with the left.  A slight depression

was pecked where the perforation was to be commenced,

in order to hold the drill to its place; and a constant

supply of sand and water was furnished to act as a cutting

medium.

It was not a speedy process as may well be imagined,

and it is somewhat monotonous.   In fact, I believe Dr.

Rau was the only white man who ever had the courage

to attempt it, and after working at one hole for two years

he left it incomplete.

As showing the infinite patience of a savage, it is stated

that some of the lowest tribes of the Amazon River make

beautiful tubes of rock crystal, an inch in diameter and

sometimes eight inches long, by rubbing down the outside

with pieces of stone, and then drilling them from end to

end with the flexible shoot of a wild plantain, with sand

and water.  To finish the larger ones "requires the life-

time of two men;" that is, a man worked all his life at it,

and left the unfinished ornament to a young man, who

sometimes died of old age before he got it completed.

*           *          *          *           *          *         *

• 9
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.          523

 

Some things required to be hafted; the grooved instru-

ments had a withe for a handle, which was split for a por-

tion of its length, and the halves thus made passed on

either side of and around the implement to the starting

point, and then firmly lashed.  Sometimes a withe was

split its entire length, and only one of the pieces used;

this was wrapped once or twice and the ends brought to-

gether, the whole being securely fastened with thongs.

Axes were sometimes made flat or grooved lengthwise

on one side, so that a wedge could be driven in to tighten

the handle.

Tomahawks or "celts" were inserted in a split stick,

and firmly lashed; or the head was set into a hole cut in

a stick, and gum or glue poured around it.    The very

small ones were set into the end of an antler, or piece of

bone, and used for scraping or skinning.

Round balls had a piece of skin stretched over most of

the surface, to which a stick was fastened.  Another way

was to take the skin of a buffalo's tail, sew the ball into

one end, and run a stick in through the other end to make

a stiff handle.  A portion of the stone was sometimes left

exposed.

The sinew of animals was in great value in these oper-

ations, as it can be drawn tightly, and is very strong; in

drying, it contracts with great force and binds like wire.

But as sinew could not fill all demands on account of its

scarcity, green raw-hide was much used.

 

The manner of converting flint into "chipped imple-

ments" will be next considered.

First, as to the flakes, used without further change, or

to be made into the many forms of arrow-points, etc.

The Eskimo use a hammer set in a handle to strike off

flakes, or they set a point of deer horn into a handle of

ivory, and drive the flakes off by striking it.

Mexican Indians take a T-shaped piece of wood, hold a

block of obsidian between the feet, set the cross-bar against

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524   Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

the breast, and the other end against the edge of the block,.

and push till a flake flies off.

Peru Indians lay a bone wedge on the surface of a

piece, and tap it until the stone cracks.

California Indians strike off flakes with a stone hammer,

or place an obsidian pebble on a stone anvil, and split it

with an agate chisel; they strike about a fourth of an inch

from the edge of the block, and obtain a flake of that

thickness.

A Cloud River Indian held a piece of obsidian in his

hand, placed the straight edge of a piece of split antler at

a distance from the edge of the stone equal to the thick-

ness of the arrow he wished; then striking the other end

with a stone, he drove off a flake.

*      *      *      *      *      *      *

The descriptions of arrow-making will apply to the

larger pieces as well; and are given quite full, as there

have been many speculations as to the process used in

their manufacture.

The Mexicans held a piece of obsidian in the left hand,

and pressed it firmly against the point of a small goat's-

horn held in the right; by moving it gently in different

directions they chipped off small flakes until the arrow

was complete.   They also cut a notch in the end of a

piece of bone into which the edge of the flake was in-

serted, and a chip broken off by a sidewise blow.

The Eskimo sometimes set the flake in a piece of split

wood; the arrow is roughly chipped by blows with a

hammer, either direct or with a punch interposed; it is

then finished by pressing off fine chips with a point of

antler set in an ivory handle.  Again, they make a spoon-

shaped cavity in a log, lay the flake over it, and press

along the margin first on one side, then on the other, with

the same tool, until two sharp serrated edges are formed.

On the great plains, some Indians lay the flat side of a

flake on a blanket or other yielding substance, and nick

off the edges with a knife.   Formerly, they used buck-

• 11
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.         525

skin and a point of bone or antler. Others hold a flake

or flint in the left hand, and place a punch at the point

where the chip is to be struck off; an assistant then strikes

the punch, and a chip is knocked off from the under

side. The flake is then turned and the process repeated,

until the arrow is complete The stone is held in the hand,

as they claim it cannot be worked on a hard surface.

Among the California Indians, various methods were

employed. Some used a pair of buck-horn pincers tied

together with a thong at the end. They first hammered

out the arrow head in the rough, and then with these

pincers carefully nipped off one tiny fragment after an-

other. Others cover the hand with a piece of buck-skin

to keep it from being cut, and lay a flake along the ball

of the thumb, holding it firmly with the fingers. Then

with a point of antler from four to six inches long, they

press against the edge, thus removing scales from the

opposite side, turning the flake around and over frequently

to preserve symmetry. Another way is for the worker to

lay a stone anvil on his knee, hold the edge of the flake

against it, and chip off flakes with his stone hammer;

finishing the base first, and gently chipping the whole

arrow into shape. One has been seen to make a very

sharp arrow-point with only a piece of round bone, one

end of which was semi-spherical, with a very shallow

crease in it. The arrow was made by pressing off flakes

by main strength, the crease being to prevent slipping and

affording no leverage.

Captain John Smith says of the Virginia Indian, "His

arrow-head, he maketh quickly with a little bone, which

he weareth ever at his girdle, of any splint of stone or

glass."

Cloud River Indians have two deer prongs, the points

ground into the form of a square, sharp-pointed file. The

flake is held firmly in the left hand, guarded by a piece of

buck-skin. With one prong they then press off chips,

turning the arrow end for end, when done one side, so as

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526   Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

to keep the edge opposite the middle line. The notches

for barbs are worked out with the other prong, which is

much smaller. Another implement has a notch like a

glaziers' diamond; the flake is held in the left hand,

while the notch is used to chip off small fragments; the

notches vary in size according to the sort of work to be

done.

Klamath River Indians use a slender stick with a piece

of sea-lion tooth, or antler, fastened to the end. They

hold a flake in the left hand, wrapped in buck-skin, so as

to leave only the edge exposed; by pressure with the

point of the tool, they press off flakes as large as necessary,

the last being very small, to make sharp edges to the

arrow. The notches are worked out by a point of bone,

four or five inches long, without a shaft.

It would seem that the above would about exhaust the

methods in which such things could be made. It is to be

remarked, however, that the large hoes, spades, and disks

found in great numbers farther West, are always made from

nodules, by chipping away the outside portions with a

hammer, and not by pressure; and as stated previously,

the cores and flakes from Flint Ridge show a similar kind

of work-at least well up to the final finishing.

 

Now we will see what Primogenus did with the various

articles he took so much trouble to procure.

It is difficult to convince people that an Indian, or any-

body else, could have cut with, or in fact made any practi-

cal use of the rude tools that can be made of stone by

such primitive processes. This feeling is quite natural

to any one who observes the handiwork of an ordinary

white man with all the appliances of a carpenter's and

blacksmith's shop at his command; the person who can make

anything but a botch, even with the best of tools, is quite

rare.

However, Primogenus could do with stone many things

that would appear marvelous to the inheritors of his

• 13
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.          527

 

domain; though we do not find that he had many stone

agricultural implements, for all that he made his living

chiefly in that way. He had not, as had his more fortunate

brother in Southern Illinois and Missouri, immense quan-

tities of flint suitable for making hoes and spades, so, for

such utensils, he must depend upon wood, large mussel

shells, and the shoulder blades of his large game.

When he wanted a log for his house or stockade, or to

make a canoe, he selected a suitable tree and built a fire

on the ground against the trunk, taking care to prevent

the blaze from going higher than he wanted it. At in-

tervals, he cut or scraped away with his ax or hatchet the

charcoal that had formed, thus presenting a fresh surface

to the flames. In a little time he could bring down the

largest tree. Marking off the desired length, as it lay on

the ground, he burned it in two, and had his log. This

was converted into a dug-out, by building a fire on top

from end to end, plastering wet clay along the line beyond

which it must not extend. Scraping with a thick shell or

with his celt mounted into a handle adze fashion, he fin-

ished the interior to his liking. Usually, the outside required

little or no dressing off; when it did, the same method was

used. So he made bowls, mortars, and other vessels of

wood. He did not use a gouge, that is, a celt with one

face hollowed out to give it a curved edge-such as is

common in some localities farther North and East; but

instead of the ordinary celt, often employed one very long

and slender, that he could use as we do a chisel.

He dressed deer and other skins with a small celt, one side

being often flat or beveled, to secure better results.

His larger celts made good wedges when he wanted to split

out boards; they were also good to strip off bark when

he wanted to deaden trees for a clearing.

Very small celts, nearly always of hematite or flint, were

set in the end of a bone or antler and used as knives and

skinners.

His wife pounded her corn, acorns or chestnuts in either

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528   Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

a stone or wooden mortar; with the latter she prob-

ably used a wooden pestle also, as her liege made very few

stone ones of the long cylindrical form found in other

sections-more frequently toward the South. The stone

mortars may have been flat or hollowed, as she used

pestles with either flat or convex bottoms. Some pestles

are very nicely made and well polished; these usually

have a slender top affording a firm grasp, and a widely ex-

panding bottom; sometimes there is a pit just at the cen-

ter of the bottom, which would be useful in cracking

nuts. But if she had nothing better at hand, she took

the first suitable stone she could pick up. For many

purposes, as breaking bones, pounding meat, or cracking

nuts, an ellipsoid pebble of sandstone with a rough place

pecked in each side to give a good grip, was used.

There is one kind of relic which Primogenus has left

for us to puzzle over without learning anything about, and

that is the cupped stone. Various theories have been put

forth and much wisdom gone to waste concerning them,

and we are still in ignorance as to their purpose. They

may have one cup or thirty; may have mortar cavities

with them or not; may weigh six ounces or fifty pounds;

and when a plausible explanation has been given of one

specimen, a dozen others may be picked up close around,

every one of which controverts the theorizer.  In one

field of not more than thirty acres on a hill near Jasper-

on which hill are two stone mounds covered with earth-

I have seen more than a hundred, and have found a large

one on the very top of the highest hill in the region,

where no other relics of any sort could be found. They

are found not only all over the United States but in all

parts of the world; and with all that has been written

about them, no one has ever yet succeeded in telling what

they are for. I can add only two things-that they are al-

most invariably of sand-stone, generally of coarse grain;

and while rough, irregular blocks never have cups except

• 15
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.          529

on one side or face, thin slabs without exception have them

on both.

The round balls so abundant everywhere, Primogenus

used as pestles, poggamoggans, hammers to peck out other

implements, and sinkers in fishing. For the latter pur-

pose he enclosed the ball in a little net of bark or leather,

though he sometimes pecked a groove around it to secure

a cord. But most of his sinkers were made of a flat water-

worn pebble with two notches rudely chipped on opposite

sides.

The larger discoidal stones and spuds in common use

among his Southern congeners seems not to have entered

into the amusements or occupation of the primitive dweller in

this region, as none are found here.

For smoking his mixture of tobacco and willow leaves,

besides his pipe he used tubes, some of which were cylin-

drical, others conical or like a cigar-holder in shape.

The latter could be used without a stem, as the perfora-

tion was quite small at the smaller end; the former had

a mouth-piece of cane or a small bone attached to one

end of the tube by some gummy substance. They were

also useful on a bright day to view distant objects, as they

shut off the dazzling light to a great extent. The medi-

cine man used them in bleeding or blistering; puncturing

the patient with a lancet, he set one end of the tube over

the cut and sucked vigorously; then with many grunts,

contortions and dismal noises he spat out the blood with

a caterpillar or some other object he had held in his

mouth and the patient straightway experienced great re-

lief.  "Christian Science" is no new   humbug. If the

disturbing element refused to be sucked out, this physi-

cian of the old school dropped some fire down in the tube and

exorcised it in that way.

The many and varied forms of gorgets, banner-stones,

and such things, made of slate, hematite, quartz, and

other materials, need not be spoken of here; they were

for ornaments, for use in religious ceremonies, and no

Vol. II-34

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530    Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

 

doubt many of them had some meaning as well understood

among the tribes as the emblems of a secret society are

among our own people.

 

After all that has been said by so many writers about

the smaller chipped flint implements, it would almost

seem there is nothing more to say; but fortunately (for

the paper mills) one is not confined to original state-

ments.

When brought to the requisite thinness and outline,

nine-tenths of the flints (using this as a generic term for

every class of such implements as are now under consid-

eration) of the primitive workers were of two general

forms - the triangular, and the pointed oval or leaf-

shaped; though one with straight edges may have a

curved base, and vice versa. By different ways of notch-

ing to form the barbs, all the ordinary forms may be

produced from these two, as may readily be seen by any

one who will restore an arrow-head to its original form by

filling out the notches with wax.

Precisely the same shapes may be found in all sizes of

flints, from the arrow-point of not more than half an

inch to the knife of eight inches or even more in length.

When going on the war-path, instead of the ordinary

polished celt in its handle of wood, Primogenus, if pos-

sessed of an esthetic turn of mind, sometimes set a long,

sharp-pointed, triangular or ovate flint, of considerable

thickness, into the leg-bone of a deer. This was fully as

effective as the more clumsy weapon, and produced results

more in consonance with his refined feelings, as it made

a neater, smaller hole in his adversary's cranium and gave

him a less unpleasant aspect. With a similar but much

thinner stone set in a handle of wood and used as a knife,

the scalp was raised.

When afraid to meet his foe in open conflict, he be-

came a bushwacker and shot him from some hiding

place. He had two favorite forms of arrow-points for

• 17
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.         531

 

this work, both small and sharp; the first, of triangular

pattern, slightly attached, so that it would remain in the

wound when the shaft was pulled out, and consequently

work deeper in; the other, with long, sharp barbs and se-

curely held so that it would pull out with the shaft, lacerating

the flesh as it came.

For a shaft he used a cane such as pipe stems are made

from, when he could get one; if these were lacking he

took a straight twig trimmed of knots and inequalities,

and rubbed it perfectly smooth with sandstone; he split

or notched the end of this, inserted the stem or base of

the flint and bound it with sinew or stuck it with gum.

For hunting, he wanted an arrow of different pattern;

this was made with long barbs and tangs (the lateral ex-

pansion at the end of the stem) so that it could be firmly

attached to the shaft and at the same time be very dif-

ficult to pull from the wound. In this way all the arrows

could be recovered when the animal was finally secured,

and in the case of smaller game the projecting shaft strik-

ing against weeds and bushes would, to some extent, impede

its flight.

It is probable that a great many of the so-called drills

were hunting arrows, as the sharp, slender blade would al-

low them to penetrate deeply, while the relatively very wide

barbs or tangs would make it almost impossible to pull them

out.

As he would not want his hunting spear to leave his

hands, the head would be made without barbs so that it

could be easily withdrawn; his spear for war, however,

might be barbed and tanged for the greater pain it would

cause.

The same knife that scalped his foe, would serve to cut

up his game; but the implement best suited for removing

the skin would be the one commonly called "beveled" or

"rotary" arrow-head. These have the entire blade of the

same thickness, with a chisel-like edge. Nothing better

adapted to this purpose can be made of stone. A pecu-

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532    Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

liar feature in these is that the bevel is almost invariably

towards the right; in hundreds of specimens I have found

only one the other way. This would indicate a right-handed

people.

In case he wanted feathers and fine furs for gorgeous

raiment, and wished to avoid soiling them, he made

"bunts" or blunt arrow-points, square or rounded, instead

of pointed, at the tip; these would cripple or kill small

game without puncturing the skin. He made them di-

rect from a flake, or by chipping down a broken arrow of

the ordinary form. In the same way he made small

scrapers for cleaning these skins, the difference being that

the bunts were so chipped as to bring the front edge in

the median line of the flint, while the scrapers were

worked in such a way as to bring the edge in the line of

one face. When made from a flake the entire chipping

was done from the concave side-the fracture of flint

being always conchoidal. These scrapers were also used

for smoothing wood-as we use broken glass-and were very

good for removing the scales from fish.

Speaking of fish, Primogenus used flint in different

ways in catching them. One way was to chip out a slen-

der piece, sharp at both ends. To the middle of this he tied

his line and took a half hitch around one point; this brought

the "hook" or bait-holder parallel to the line; over it

the bait was placed. When swallowed by a fish, a slight

jerk released the loop, and the flint taking a position at

right angles to the line, held the fish firmly. Again, he

used a spear, the head of which was very slender, and

often barbed on one side only, the other side being

straight. Or instead of having a spear-head, he set a

row of narrow, thin flakes, inclining backwards, along

each side of a slender rod, which he used as a harpoon or

spear.

Other uses of these small flakes were, to make arrow-

tips, lancets for bleeding or scarifying, saws (by setting a

number of them side by side) for cutting bone and shell,

• 19
 

Aboriginal Stone Implements.          533

and for shaving, though this was not common, the pre-

vailing fashion being to use a small mussel-shell as a

nipper and jerk the hairs out by the root; a process

which cansed Primogenus to rejoice greatly that it never

had to be undergone the second time.

I have already mentioned the use of flint drills; but I

am convinced the name is wrongly applied in most in-

stances, the material being too brittle for perforating

any but thin or soft substances.   Many were no doubt

used for making holes in skin or leather; though a bone

needle was much better suited for this, besides being

more easily made; and many which have never been

classed as drills in any work on the subject, show un-

mistakable marks of such use; but all such are thick

pieces with diamond or triangular section.

In every variety of articles made of stone, may be found

specimens which have been broken and reworked; and

many features may be observed which cannot be explained

with our present knowledge. For example, all finely

worked leaf-shaped implements having notches cut in at

an angle of about 45° with the longer axis, and nearly

all with a straight base and tangs projecting beyond the

barbs, have the base blunted and polished as if from long-

continued use as scrapers or cutting implements.  It is

on the unused part of the flint; and cannot be due to

rubbing in a handle by becoming loose, for this would

polish the sides also. Such perplexing little matters are

very numerous.

Should the reader, because "it looks easy enough,"

undertake to make a few relics on his own account, he

will find it more difficult than he thinks; and yet this

part will be much easier than palming off his modern

pieces upon the veteran collector.

GERARD FOWKE, Columbus, Ohio.

NOTE:-In the collection of the Society may be seen a series repre-

senting every stage of flint implements from the rough block to the

finished specimen; along with the hammers, cores and flakes belonging

to the work.

• 20