Tikchik village: a nineteenth century riverine community in ... - Cluster

VANSTONE: TIKCHIK VILLAGE 271edge. The blade also appears to have been thinned slightly towardthe proximal end as an aid to hafting. Were it not for the knob,however, this implement would probably have been identified as aplaning adze blade (PI. 3,5).Although artifacts of wood are almost completely lacking in theTikchik collection, the importance of wood working is suggested bythe large number of planing adze blades. The 14 complete or virtuallycomplete specimens vary in size but conform to a single type.All are roughly worked except for finely-ground, V-shaped workingedges, and all show varying degrees of taper toward the proximalend (PI. 3,6-8). Some may have been hafted directly to a shoulderedhandle but most, particularly the smaller specimens with pronouncedtapering sides, were fashioned for hafting in a socketed orbedded adze head. It should be emphasized that several of thesmaller adze blades closely resemble the previously described skinscraper blades and probably would have been so described had itnot been for the hardness of the material from which they are manufactured.Actually, both the skin scraper blades and the planingadze blades are made from a fine-grained schist. The latter, however,are made from a much finer-grained, and therefore harder, typeof schist. The relatively large number of these adze blades contrastsTenmarkedly with the complete absence of adze heads of any form.planing adze blade blanks of fine grained schist are roughly chippedto their approximate final shape. Two specimens show some tracesof polishing at the working ends.A single net sinker is simply a pebble of fine conglomerate crudelynotched on opposite sides for lashing. Carefully finished bone andantler net sinkers are common in the Tikchik collection, but thesingle stone specimen suggests that this form was rarely used.Two large, irregularly shaped boulders of fine-grained schist havecarefully rounded, ground depressions on one side. These have beenidentified as paint mortars, pigment grinders or fungus grinders eventhough there are few indications of use. The larger specimen, notillustrated, is approximately 17 by 14 by 12 cm. and has a "bowl"that is 8 cm. in diameter and 5 cm. deep. The smaller specimen hasa much shallower depression (PL 3,2). Two other fragmentary sectionsof schist with ground flat surfaces also suggest grinders of somekind. One is approximately 14 by 9 cm. and has one ground surfacewhich slopes up slightly toward the edge. The other is similar butabout half the size. Neither shows indications of use.