Aboriginal man was very saving. When he killed a deer or a bear he not only made use of the meat and the hide, but also of the bones and sinews. The proof of such economy lies in any large village-site, where one finds in the ashes bones of practically every bird, animal, and fish formerly in the neighborhood. And these bones have been broken, or cut, or sawed. Some of them indicate the beginning of workmanship, many of them are broken to extract the marrow, and others are perfect. The exhibit is just such as one would expect from the camp-site of savages. After the feast was over and the bones cast out, in the ensuing days, when these bones had become more or less dry, the man, the woman, or perhaps the boy, gathered them up and worked them into the forms presented in this chapter. The use of bones for harpoons was widespread. In fact no substance is more convenient. The skeletal remains of numerous animals, birds, and fish furnished the Indians with bones of various sizes and shapes, and it is quite likely that such bones as could be made use of were stored away, and that the aborigines selected the bone suited to their purpose and went to work on it to manufacture the harpoon, or the awl, or the ornament. Harpoons seem to have been more in use in the North than in the South, and more are found in the St. Lawrence basin, Canada, and northern New England, and New York State, than elsewhere in the United States. The same is true of the Eskimo country, where bone harpoon-points are very common. Illustrations 538, 541, 542, present four different bone harpoons. [Illustration: FIG. 541. (S. 2–3.) Bone harpoon. P. D. Winship’s collection, Park Rapids, Minnesota. ] [Illustration: FIG. 542. (S. 1–2.) (See Fig. 543 for description.) ] [Illustration: _Description of Figs. 542 and 543._ Objects of antler, bone, shell, and copper from North Dakota mounds: _a._ Deer antler tines, showing perforations and notches. _b._ Bone anklet, somewhat broken, but showing entire length in front. _c._ Carved tine of a deer’s antler. _d._ Bead made from the columella of a marine shell. _e._ Pearly shell buttons or ornaments, perforated or notched; found with the anklet shown in _b_. _f._ Flat piece of copper coiled into a bead. _g._ Small marine shells perforated by grinding. _h._ Pearly shell rings, probably a portion of a necklace. _i._ Bone fishing-spear. From Henry Montgomery’s collection, Toronto, Canada. ] [Illustration: FIG. 543. (S. 1–2.) ] [Illustration: FIG. 544. (S. 1–3.) Elk-horn spoons, from Humboldt County, California. H. K. Deisher’s collection. ]