The stone age in North America, vol. 1 of 2

These were classified by the Committee under chipped implements as “IV, chipped stone,” although most of them are not chipped. But they were much used in shaping chipped objects, and I have left them in the place assigned by the Committee.

The types of stone hammers and hammer-stones are fully described by J. D. McGuire in the American Anthropologist, in volumes 4, 5, and 6. Mr. McGuire has devoted more study to the manufacture of hammer-stones and stone hammers than any other person, and has made a number of implements using the stone hammer and fragments of other stones to reduce irregular surfaces. I quote from Mr. McGuire’s article in the Anthropologist for October, 1891:—

“An examination of these objects will demonstrate that three types probably contain them all.

“First. The oblong or flattened ellipsoid having a pit on one or both sides; the pits probably being intended as finger-holds to relieve the index finger from the constant jar occasioned by quickly repeated blows on a hard surface. The periphery of these will often be found quite smooth, at other times rough, according as it has been last used as a hammer or as a rubber, although hammers of hard and tough material, when used on stone of similar character, wear away on the periphery as though rubbed. Often one or both of the flattened sides shows the effect of rubbing, as in Fig. 1.

“Second. The spherical implement slightly flattened at the poles showing a battered and commonly a smooth surface. These two types may be considered as common all over the world.

“The third type would appear to be the grooved hammer, of the use and distribution of which less is known. This type was evidently intended for hafting, which would interfere with its use as a rubber.

“All three types vary greatly in dimensions, but as a rule the two first are of a size suitable for hand use, not only for hammering but also for rubbing.

“It is intended to discuss here the hammer used in stone pecking as distinguished from the chipping hammer. By the latter a slower and more deliberate blow would be given, and consequently its shape would not be material.

“That nuts and bones could be cracked and paint and grain could be ground with hammers is admitted, but it is contended that no reasonable amount of such work would cause the implements to present the appearance they do if only so used. Moreover, any unshaped stone would have answered these purposes as well as a finished implement; hence, is it reasonable to suppose that savage man would trouble himself to fashion useless objects?

“Hammers were made of any hard stone that could be obtained. It is common to find them of diorite, quartzite, or other tough material capable of the greatest amount of work with the least wear; they would be gritty, as is almost invariably the case, to grind the pecked surface as work progressed. It can hardly be doubted that men living in an age of stone must have been conversant not only with the best sources of material, but also with its adaptability for particular uses.

“Some may doubt whether the stone hammer could do the work suggested [Mr. McGuire illustrated the truth of this contention by making an axe]. It is made of a close-grained black porphyry that in 1878 was pecked out and grooved entirely with a stone hammer by the writer as a first effort, to demonstrate the method of axe-grooving. The work on this stone represents approximately five hours’ labor. When the hardness of material is taken into consideration, it is safe to conclude that it could not have taken more than one half as much time to groove an ordinary axe, since they are of much softer material. From this may roughly be calculated the time that would be required to fashion a stone axe or in fact any other stone implement which was made by pecking and polishing; and it will be seen that, granting a liberal allowance of time, the manufacture of stone implements consumed a small portion of the time supposed to be requisite. The statement that the manufacture of an axe or in fact of any other stone implement was a long process has so often been made that it may be regarded as a common belief among archæologists. So great have the difficulties of their manufacture been supposed to be that it has been surmised even that early races had other than stone tools.”

The various types of hammer-stones used in chipping flint implements are shown in Chapter II, Figs. 13 and 14, of this book.

In the Anthropologist for April, 1892, Mr. McGuire gave an account of the manufacture of the nephrite axe. I quote from Mr. McGuire’s paper as follows:—

“The material of a grooved nephrite axe made by the writer is from New Zealand, and was procured through the kindness of Professor Clarke, of the United States National Museum. This stone is one of the toughest as well as of the hardest known, and when work was first commenced on it was irregular in shape as when broken from the large boulder, with sharp edges that cut the hand as the stone was struck with the hammer. In pecking with the stone hammer, about one hundred and forty blows were given to the minute. The hammers first used were of quartzite from Piney Branch, on the edge of Washington City. About forty pebbles were destroyed before one was found tough enough to stand the necessary pounding. With a single exception, none lasted more than ten minutes. The exception was a close-grained gray quartzite, with which was performed eight or ten hours’ work.

“Gabbro or black granite was then used for a hammer and was found useless; gneiss proved to be no better, and the work appeared hopeless. Finally, through the kindness of Mr. Weed, of the United States Geological Survey, a rough piece of compact yellow jasper from the Yosemite was obtained, with which about forty hours’ work was done. The jasper was worn but slightly, the nephrite losing about the same weight as the jasper. This hammer is yet large enough to manufacture many dozens, if not hundreds, of such implements as the celts and axes usually found in this section of country. With a nephrite hammer of suitable shape, having a narrow periphery, the work of fashioning this axe could probably have been done in one half the time.

“In the process of manufacture, owing to a flaw, a large piece of the blade was broken off and a second flaw, running diagonally through the specimen, threatened to destroy it if the hard pounding was continued. Work on it had therefore to be curtailed. The groove could not be worked deeper because the jasper hammer did not have a narrow edge. The outline having been carried as far as was thought safe, grinding on a block of rotten granite was resorted to; the granite was kept wet and the nephrite, being held in the hand, was rubbed backward and forward for about five hours. Subsequently it was polished with a pebble of compact quartzite, both dry and wet, the process occupying about six hours. The axe was then rubbed with wood and with buckskin to further polish it, but apparently without effect. The pecking occupied 55 hours and 10 minutes, which period, estimating the number of blows per minute as 140, would give over 460,000 blows required for the manufacture of the implement. This stone weighed when first received 7625 troy grains; the present weight is 5143 grains; the loss therefore is 2482 grains. This specimen, however, can hardly be taken as a fair standard of aboriginal work, for in selecting the material a workman would naturally choose a pebble as nearly the desired shape as could be procured, and thus avoid a large part of the labor. The savage, if we can believe the accounts given of him by early travelers, was not likely to make unnecessary exertion.

“In contrast to the obdurate nephrite, a block of kersantite was selected. This kersantite is from New Jersey, and is a much tougher stone than was generally used for the common stone axe or celt found in the eastern portion of the United States. The block was exceedingly rough when first taken in hand, yet it required less than two hours’ labor with an ordinary quartzite hammer to produce a comparatively well-finished axe. A good idea of the time necessary to manufacture such an implement is thus afforded. The polishing was done with sand and water rubbed with a smooth piece of quartzite, the time required being included in the time specified.”

In his later paper in the Anthropologist, for July, 1893, Mr. McGuire continues his observations. He considers that all chipped implements show a special fracture, and therefore the weight of the hammer and its material and shape “are all important elements to be considered; the intended implement must be struck with a certain weight and force, and at a particular angle, to accomplish the desired result.” Mr. McGuire, in his papers, follows out more in detail what Mr. Sellars originally observed many years before any of the experiments by men connected with the Smithsonian Institution were made.

Mr. McGuire calls attention to the difference between the heavy hammer and the light hammer-stone:—

“The battering hammer is commonly a discoidal stone, having a rounded periphery, with a pit on each flat surface intended to hold the thumb and middle finger, whilst the index finger is placed on the periphery. The pits are but slight depressions, but are sufficient to prevent the stone from slipping as the blow is given, and at the same time enable the workman to raise the index finger slightly, and thus save the jar which would otherwise in a few minutes disable the arm. The blows with the battering hammer are given at the rate of two hundred or more a minute, which would be impossible with the ordinary chipping hammer. With this hammer rapidity is essential, and the blow is ordinarily given to a broad surface, and no deliberation is necessary. Battered objects are numerous and vary greatly in size; consequently the hammer is found to vary likewise.”

Figs. 209, 210, and 211 present eighteen hammers from various portions of the United States.

The pitted stone, the round hammer-stone, and the other rude grooved hammer are tools, as we have seen; but the more carefully worked grooved hammer served a different purpose. On the Plains large hammers were frequently made and used by Indian tribes that subsisted on the buffalo, as it would be impossible to break the larger bones of that animal with ordinary hand-hammers.

Some of the hammers have flat backs, as have axes, and wedges could be inserted for securely fastening them to the handle. As has been previously stated, primitive man was economical, and when he broke an axe he could make the edge round and use it as a hammer. The finer grooved hammers (Fig. 212) were undoubtedly used as weapons and lashed in sticks to serve as clubs or maces, the handles being more or less ornamental. Much is to be learned from a study of the hammer-stone and the grooved hammer, and I agree with Mr. McGuire’s statement, “the hammer is homely at best, yet the hammer tells us more of ancient times than does the celt.”

Mr. Charles E. Brown, the able archæologist, says of these grooved hammers:—

“They closely resemble grooved stone axes in shape, but have blunt edges. Examples are to be seen in all of the larger Wisconsin collections. Several specimens are ornamented with flutings.

“Mauls and club-heads were made of pebbles or small boulders and have a groove about their middles. The smaller are said to have been used as club-heads. Some are very rude, and others smoothed or polished. Specimens are found in most parts of the state. They are most numerous in northwestern Wisconsin and along Lake Superior, where they were employed as weapons in the early struggles between the Chippewa and Dakotas. From the Lake Superior aboriginal copper mining-pits hundreds of stone mauls have been recovered.

“A rare type of stone club-head has two grooves. A few specimens have a ridge on either side of the groove. Another unusual form has intersecting grooves.

“Specimens of these hand-hammers or hammer-stones have been found on every Indian village-site in the state. They show every stage of work, from the ordinary pebble with its surface scarcely altered to those dressed into convenient shape and provided with grips or hand-holds.

“Good series of these spherical stones or stone balls, from the size of a marble to that of an orange, are in all of the larger public and private collections. They are found on Indian village- and camp-sites, and occasionally in mounds.”