Fig. 58. Spatulate Object made of Bone. From the Yakima Valley. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from photograph 44503, 6-4. Original catalogue No. 13 in the collection of Mr. Janeck.)
This seems rather interesting since these two kinds of awls, each made of a special bone are so commonly found and so widely distributed in America that it seems hardly possible that they may not yet be found in this region. Simple sharpened bone implements which are said to have been used as awls are found in the Nez Perce region[206] where according to Spinden, a small awl was used in making basketry but we saw none in the Yakima region not considered to be points for arrows or spears.
Needles. Only one object which may be considered as a needle was seen by us in the Yakima region, and it will be remembered that they are rare on the coast of British Columbia and Washington, except in the Lower Fraser[207] country, although they were common in the Thompson River region.[208] This specimen shown in [Fig. 58] is a long needle-like object, No. 13, in the collection of Mr. Janeck. The object is warped or bent like the needles used in the Puget Sound country to string cat-tail stalks together in order to make mats. This specimen is 291 mm. long. The point is sharpened and although the side edges are flat, it somewhat resembles a paper knife. At a point nearly one third of its length from the base, it is perforated through the middle by gouging from each side. The base is notched, in such a way that the object is bilaterally symmetrical as shown in the illustration. It may possibly but not probably have served as a sap scraper.[209]
Fig. 59 a. Object made of Steatite, probably a Mat Presser. From Prosser. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from photograph 44504, 6-5. Original in the collection of Mr. Spalding). b, Part of Incised Pictograph on Object Shown in a.
Mat Pressers. Mat pressers, or objects that are considered to be such, made of stone are commonly found in the area immediately to the south. No objects recognized as such were found by us in the Thompson River region, and from the coast of British Columbia and Washington there is only one. It is made of stone[210] and was found at Cadboro Bay near Victoria. Specimens made of wood are very common among the present natives of the same coast. A ground soapstone object from the Nez Perce region is considered by Spinden an arrow-shaft polisher,[211] but seems to me more likely to be a mat presser of the type found in the region immediately south of the Yakima area.
The object shown in [Fig. 59] which may be an unfinished pipe, is of the form of a flattened cylinder, made of steatite and was found at Prosser in the southern part of the area here considered. The surface is marked with incised figures, part of which are illustrated in [Fig. 59b] and described on [p. 124]. The groove on one side suggests that it may have been used as a mat presser such as are used to string cat-tails and tule stalks. The cylindrical bore in the top is 25 mm. deep by 10 mm. in diameter and its top is funnel-shaped. The original is in the collection of Mr. Spalding.[212]
FOOTNOTES: