Perforated Stones From California (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from Perforated Stones From California Few objects reward archaeologic search in Southern California so frequently as the so-called "perforated stones," and in the collections of any size they form a considerable percentage of the objects represented. While, probably, nowhere in the United States are they so abundant as in California, they occur in perhaps every portion of is this country, and also in other parts of the world, as in Europe, Australia, India, Africa, and South America. As in the case of many other aboriginal relics, it has been found difficult to assign definite uses to these perforated stones, especially in view of their great diversity as to size, shape, material, and the manner and extent to which they are finished. California specimens are made of sandstone, quartzite, steatite, and other kinds of stone - frequently, though by no means always, such as are rather easily worked. In Europe and in Peru specimens are found which are made of bronze. The California stones are most frequently circular or nearly circular, but occasionally they are irregularly oblong (Fig. 1). In the latter case the stones appear to have been left nearly or quite in their original shape, and specimens are sometimes seen which are two or three times longer than broad and with irregular outlines. In the case of such specimens it is evident that regularity of outline and fine finish were in no wise essential to their functions, whatever these may have been; nevertheless, such specimens are frequently highly polished, either on one side or on both sides, perhaps intentionally, or, more likely, from the friction of constant use. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."