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 are one ([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.
| District. | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Tennessee | 3 | 4 | |||
| Ogle county, Illinois | 1 | ||||
| Savannah, Georgia | 1 | ||||
| Haywood county, North Carolina | 1 | ||||
| Kanawha valley, West Virginia | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| KEY: A = Steatite. B = Hematite. C = Compact quartzite. 11D = Granite. E = Sandstone. | |||||
Hemispheres.
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 in [figure 127].