The Archaeology of the Yakima Valley Part 8

[160] Spinden, p. 182 and Figs. 1, 2, Plate IX.

[161] Smith, (c), Fig. 349.

[162] Cf. Smith, (c), Fig. 349.

No pieces of antler or other material which may possibly have served as celt hafts were found in this region, although it will be remembered that one specimen, thought possibly to have been such, was found at Kamloops in the Thompson River[163] region, another in the Lillooet Valley[164] and that celt hafts made of antler were common on the coast at Port Hammond,[165] Comox,[166] Saanich,[167] and Utsalady.[168] A piece of antler (202-8378a), found on the surface near the head of Priest Rapids, is much bleached and shows signs of having been daubed with red paint. It consists of a piece which has been cut around below a fork with some sharp instrument and then broken off. The p.r.o.ngs seem to be simply broken off.

[163] Smith, (c), Fig. 348, p. 115.

[164] Teit, (b), Fig. 66.

[165] Smith, (a), Figs. 29 and 59.

[166] Smith, (b), Fig. 107.

[167] _Ibid._, Figs. 129-130.

[168] _Ibid._, Fig. 157.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 46. Hand-Adze made of Stone. From the surface in an old burial ground of the Indians near the mouth of the Yakima River on McNeals Island. 1/2 nat. size. (Drawn from photographs 44503, 6-4, 44452, 2-1. Original catalogue No. 25 in the collection of Mr. Janeck.)]

_Hand-Adze._ Only one hand-adze has been found in this area, so far as I am aware. It is catalogue No. 25 in the collection of Mr. Janeck, made of stone and found near the surface of an old burial ground of the Indians near the mouth of the Yakima River on what is known as McNeals Island. This specimen is shown in Fig. 46, and is 165 mm. long, 228 mm.

in greatest circ.u.mference which is around the part corresponding to the edge of the striking head of a pestle, 37 mm. in diameter at the top and 37 mm. along the edge of the blade. It is made of rock resembling diorite or diabase. The natural surface of the pebble from which it was made shows on the ridge of the striking head of the pestle-like part.

The convex side of the celt-like part of the object is very smooth. This is apparently partly due to the fact that it presents the smooth natural surface of the pebble from which the object was made, and also to more or less friction which must have been received here when in use. It probably served as an adze. This specimen is perhaps the most ideal form of this type that I have seen, the upper end comparing closely to a pestle, with a slight indication of a k.n.o.b at the top, a flaring body, and a short striking head, the sides of which extend as a ridge nearly if not entirely around the specimen. The celt-like part is to one side of the axis, so that one side expands to meet the ridge above mentioned, forming a concavity; the other contracts to meet it forming a convex sweep from the cutting edge to the beginning of the body of the pestle-like part.[169] Such hand-adzes have been found at Portland, Columbia Slough about ten miles below Portland,[2] and Mr. E. D.

Zimmerman of Philadelphia has informed me that there are five or six specimens of this type in his collection but the discovery of this specimen at McNeals Island marks the most eastern occurrence of this type, so far as I know at present.[170]

[169] Museum negatives nos. 44452, 2-1 and 44503, 6-4.

[170] First mentioned on pp. 303-304, Noteworthy Archaeological Specimens from Lower Columbia Valley, by Harlan I. Smith, American Anthropologist, (N. S.) Vol. VIII, No. 2, April-June, 1906.

_Whetstones._ Whetstones, recognized as such, are rare in the Yakima region but a fragment (202-8217) of a sandstone pebble, which is apparently rubbed on the irregular sides was found on the surface of the little camp site, west of Cherry Creek, near Ellensburg. It probably served as a rough whetstone or for grinding implements into shape.

The cigar-shaped object made of friable stone, shown in Fig. 69, and considered on p. 81 as a war implement or "slave-killer," is suitable for use as a whetstone and may have been such. The object thought to be a whetstone shown in Fig. 120, is in the collection of Mr. Janeck, and is said to be from the Yakima Valley. It is made of friable slate; the top is broken off. It is 142 mm. long, 18 mm. wide and 6 mm. thick with rounded edges. The circle and dot design incised on the specimen is described on p. 131. It would seem that use as a whetstone would destroy the design.[171] From the whole region, I have seen only these three specimens that can be considered as whetstones. This scarcity seems somewhat remarkable when we consider their abundance in the Thompson River region,[172] and also on the coast at Port Hammond and Eburne in the Fraser Delta,[173] Comox,[174] North Saanich[175] Victoria,[176] New Dungeness,[177] and Port Williams.[178]

[171] Museum negative no. 44503, 6-4.

[172] Smith, (d), p. 144; (c), p. 417.

[173] Smith (a), p. 167.

[174] Smith (b), p. 312

[175] _Ibid._, p. 339.

[176] _Ibid._, p. 360.

[177] _Ibid._, p. 389.

[178] _Ibid._, p. 392.

Beaver teeth sharpened for use as knives, such as were found in the Thompson River region,[179] were not found by us in this whole area any more than in the Fraser Delta,[180] although they were present at Comox,[181] and though not certainly identified at both Saanich[182] and Burton.[183] However, a beaver tooth was found (202-8189) in cremation rectangle No. 21 (16) on the flat overlooking the mouth of the Naches River. Objects that are considered as knife handles, such as were found at Lytton,[184] though not certainly at Kamloops[185] were absent here as in the Fraser Delta.[186] Objects made of bone or antler and thought to have been used for flaking stone implements were also absent.

[179] Smith (d), p. 144; (c). p. 417.

[180] Smith (a), p. 168.

[181] Smith (b), p. 318.

[182] _Ibid._, p. 346.

[183] _Ibid._, p. 398.

[184] Smith (d), Fig. 50.

[185] Smith (c), p. 418.

[186] Smith (a), p. 168.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 47 (202-8398). Point for a Drill, chipped from Chalcedony. From the head of Priest Rapids. 1/2 nat. size. (Collected by Mrs. J. B. Davidson.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 48 (202-8370). Point for a Drill, chipped from Chert. From the surface, near the head of Priest Rapids. 1/2 nat. size.]

_Drills._ Drill points chipped from stone are perhaps less abundant in the Yakima country than in the Thompson River region[187] to the north.

They are found of various shapes in the Nez Perce region[188] to the east but it will be remembered that they were not certainly identified among finds from the coast.[189] The specimen shown in Fig. 47, was collected at the head of Priest Rapids, and presented by Mrs. J. B.

Davidson of Ellensburg. It is chipped from a grayish chalcedony. The shaft is rather blunt at the end, possibly having been broken off, and is somewhat lozenge-shaped in cross section although one side has a less p.r.o.nounced ridge than the other which causes the section to tend towards the sub-triangular. The base expands sidewise and is somewhat thinner at the end than at the shaft although it is thicker than the point. A point somewhat similar in shape, but 57 mm. long, chipped from white chalcedony, and found at Priest Rapids, was seen in the collection of Mr. Austin Mires. Another drill point chipped from black trap, 48 mm.

long, and also found at Priest Rapids, was seen in the same collection.

The shaft expands sidewise into a base of the form of a truncated triangle which is rather thin. Fig. 48 shows a drill point chipped from reddish brown chert that was found on the surface near the head of Priest Rapids. The upper portion resembles the first-mentioned specimen and the lower part is somewhat similar to it but more lenticular in cross section. In other words, the implement is either double-pointed or it was intended to chip away the lower part. The lower point is so well chipped to form that it seems more likely to be a double-pointed drill.

[187] Smith (d), p. 148; (c), p. 419.

[188] Spinden, p. 185, Figs. 23-25, Plate VII.

[189] Smith (a), p. 190; (b), p. 438.

Holes which have been drilled and apparently with such drills as these are seen in the stone objects shown in Figs. 34, 77, 81, 99, 105, 119.

The sh.e.l.l object shown in Fig. 88 probably was broken; but in Figs. 76, 79, 90, 91, 93 and 94, the sh.e.l.l seems drilled and in Fig. 73 the antler is drilled.

_Sc.r.a.pers._ For sc.r.a.ping and shaving, the objects shown in Figs. 49-52 would have been useful. One side of these consists of a large facet, as in the case of Fig. 50, or is but slightly chipped. This surface on the first two specimens shows the bulb of percussion, while on the fourth all signs of the bulb have apparently been obliterated by secondary chipping along a longitudinal third, probably done to flatten the side, although as this sc.r.a.per was made from a fragment of a flake rather than from the whole flake it is possible that the bulb was not on this piece.

In the third specimen the bulb does not show as the object was not made from a flake but from a thin piece of chalcedony which shows striations upon both surfaces suggesting that it may have been the filling or cast of a seam from which it has separated. The upper ends of the first two specimens are somewhat convex on this surface probably because of the bulb of percussion. The lower or wider ends, which are chipped to a sc.r.a.ping edge from the opposite side on all the specimens are somewhat concave or at least flat as in the third specimen. The other two are not so regular in outline, but are also chipped like a sc.r.a.per at the broad end and the side edges. The specimen shown in Fig. 52 was found on the surface of the little camp site on Cherry Creek, near Ellensburg, and is of a waxy, yellowish brown chalcedony. It is shaped something like a gun flint.

There is a sc.r.a.per 66 mm. long made of a greenish slate in the collection of Mrs. Davidson to whom it was presented by Mr. Owen. It is somewhat tongue-shaped and slightly concave-convex. The base is broken while the curved edge is slightly chipped on the convex side to form an edge. The point is rather thin and has been somewhat rubbed. Red paint has been daubed on the specimen which suggests that it may have been found in a grave. It will be remembered that sc.r.a.pers were found, although not so frequently, in the Thompson River region[190] to the north and that in the Nez Perce region to the east,[191] they are usually irregular in form, flat on one side and convex on the other.

While their chief use may have been for skin sc.r.a.ping, they are found by experiment to be excellent implements for planing wood, and may well have served for the sc.r.a.ping down of arrow-shafts, spear-shafts, and for similar work.

[190] Smith (c), p. 418.