The Archaeology of the Yakima ValleySmith, Harlan Ingersoll
History
The Archaeology of the Yakima Valley
Smith, Harlan Ingersoll
Yakima River Valley (Wash.) -- Antiquities
The stone objects considered as pestles and shown in Figs. 32 and 35 may
have been used as war clubs. The object made of friable stone, shown in
Fig. 69 was mentioned on p. 39 us possibly having been used as a pestle
and again on p. 65 as being suitable for use as a whetstone. It seems
most likely, however, that it served as an implement of war or as a
'slave-killer.' It is roughly of the shape of a cigar. The upper end is
nearly flat and circular. From here the object gradually expands for
about half its length and then contracts to a point, being nearly
circular in cross section throughout. It is 208 mm. long, 38 mm. in
maximum diameter, and 19 mm. in diameter at the top. It was found in the
Yakima Valley and is in the collection of Mr. Janeck.[240] The object
considered as a hand-adze and shown in Fig. 46, may have been used as a
'slave-killer.'
No objects considered as daggers or knives and made of antler were found
by us in this region. Although it will be remembered[241] that several,
over 200 mm. in length, were found in the Thompson River region.
[240] Museum negative no. 44503, 6-4.
[241] Smith (d), Fig. 80; (c), p. 423 and Fig. 360.
_War Costume._ The costume indicated on the figure carved in antler,
described under the section of dress and adornment, p. 100, referred to
in the discussion of art on p. 127, and shown in Fig. 121, may be that
of a warrior as is suggested by the similarity of the headdress to the
war-bonnet of the tribes of the Plains. That the war-bonnet was used in
this region is strongly suggested not only by this headdress but also by
those represented in the pictographs and petroglyphs as well as by the
wearing of it by the modern Indians of this area. This idea is further
strengthened by the fact that the war-bonnet is worn in the Nez Perce
region to the east,[242] where it has no doubt been used for a long
time, although it may originally have been derived from the Plains. The
Nez Perce sometimes wore streamers with these war-bonnets. Spinden
states that the early Nez Perce war-bonnets differed from the type used
by them to-day, and that exact information about them is difficult to
obtain.
[242] Spinden, p. 228.
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