The three specimens recovered this season fall into the first group. All are characterized by flat faces and all are made of sandstone.
1. Sides beveled with the lower or larger face battered about the entire periphery. Height, 4 cm.; diameter, 6.5 cm. to 9 cm.
2. Fragmentary specimen with straight sides and slight central depression on one face. Height, 4.2 cm.; diameter, 7.7 cm.
3. Fragmentary specimen with vertical sides. Height, 3 cm.; diameter undetermined.
A barrel-shaped object of sandstone was recovered which, if it is a finished product, should not be classed here as a stone disk. However, there is some possibility that it represents a discoid in the initial stages of manufacture, and as such it is without parallel in the collection. Height, 6 cm.; diameter 5.9 cm. at ends; 6.8 cm. at middle.
There is no reason to assume that any of our specimens are in any way related to the so-called “bowling” stones reported for southern California in late prehistoric or historic times.
Rubbing Stones
This class includes small flat cobbles, showing abrasive wear on one or both faces. They may be distinguished from manos by their reduced size though many appear to look like “little” manos. None shows any shaping other than through continued wear from use.
A minority of these pieces, thirty-four, are distinguished by the development of a small centralized pit on one or both smoothed faces. In some instances there is a single pit on one surface and two on the other. Many of these pitted examples have been battered on their peripheral edges, suggesting they were either reused rubbing stones or they served a dual function of both smoothing and pecking. We are hesitant to call them “pitted hammerstones” since many are made from a soft sandstone and would be ill adapted to this function. It is of some interest to note that this general type of stone implement occurs in central and northern California throughout most of the entire cultural history of the more advanced industries. It has been suggested that such an artifact may have been used as an “acorn anvil” or in some way related to the preparation of the acorn in the hulling process. Should this prove to be correct, then one might expect it to be an ancient element in native California.