Fig. 217.—Bone Comb (1⁄1).
Fig. 218.—Bone Comb (1⁄1).
Fig. 219.—Bone Comb (1⁄1).
They are all made on a uniform plan. The body, i.e. the portion containing the teeth, consists of three or four flat pieces kept in position by two transverse bands of bone, one on each side, and riveted together by three or four iron rivets. The comb represented by Fig. 217 has its body made of four portions, but only three rivets. The ornamentation is alike on both sides, and at one end there is a small hole, probably for attaching it to a string. It is 31⁄2 inches long and 21⁄4 inches broad. That figured next (Fig. 218) has the same breadth as the former, but not quite the same length, being only 3 inches long. The ornamentation is similar on both sides.
From slight cuts on the cross bars, corresponding to the intervals between the teeth, it is manifest that the teeth in both these combs were formed by a saw, after the pieces were riveted together.
The third comb here engraved (Fig. 219) is in a somewhat fragmentary condition, but when whole it would be about 4 inches long. The body was made up of four portions, and contained four iron rivets. Its ornamentation consists of a central dot, surrounded by two incised circles, and is alike on both sides. The similarity of the concentric circles induces me to believe that they must have been formed by a die, probably branded on with a hot iron.