Two general types may be recognized, and these are the stemmed or notched, and the triangular forms. The former are by far the most abundant and while these are usually made of the nearest local rock possessing the necessary conchoidal fracture, in some cases they are of material brought from a long distance. Specimens made of pink flint resembling stone from the Flint Ridge of Ohio, and of jasper found to the south of this region have been recorded. Blunt arrow points are rare, the Indians probably preferring wooden arrows for this type. Many of the so-called "blunt-points" found in collections, appear to be scrapers made over from broken arrow points of a large size.
The triangular type has long been regarded by the local collectors of this vicinity as being the type used in war, the argument being that as it has no stem, it was necessarily but loosely fastened in its shaft and, if shot into the body, would be very liable to become detached and remain in the flesh if any attempt were made to withdraw it by tugging at the shaft. While it was no doubt perfectly possible to fasten a point of triangular shape to. the shaft as firmly as a notched point, the discoveries of Mr. George H. Pepper at Tottenville, Staten Island, where twenty-three arrow points were found in and among the bones of three Indian skeletons, tend to strengthen this theory. While the majority were of bone or antler, all those made of stone were of this type, and indeed most of the bone points were also triangular in shape. However, it is well to bear in mind that arrow points of triangular type have been used for every purpose by all the early Iroquois tribes of New York.
Spear Points and Knives (Fig. 10). None of the early accounts of contemporary European writers seem to mention the use of spears (other than bone or antler-headed harpoons) by the Indians hereabouts, and it is probable that the larger arrow-point- like forms found were used as knives or cutting tools. They are usually notched or stemmed, rarely triangular, and occasionally round or oval. They vary in size, but it must be remembered that one tool may have had various uses, and that drills, knives and scrapers may often have been combined in one implement.
Scrapers (Figs. 10 and 11). Scrapers were probably used in dressing skins, and in sharpening bone implements, woodworking and for various other purposes. These are usually mere flint flakes chipped to an edge on one side. Nevertheless, notched and stemmed forms, requiring some care in their making do occur. Broken arrow points were occasionally chipped down to serve this purpose. A single serrated scraper has been found.
These are very rare in both. the Algonkian and Iroquoian areas of New England and the Middle Atlantic States. One very large stemmed scraper, of a type more common in the far west, also comes from this locality
Drills (Fig . 11). These are usually chipped tools presenting an elongated narrow blade and a considerably swollen or expanded base, suitable for grasping in the hand. In some cases the base was absent and those were probably hafted in wood. Specimens whose blades have a square or rectangular cross section are very rare. The finding of cores left in half-drilled objects shows the use of a hollow drill, and it has been suggested that a hard hollow reed used with sand and water on a soft stone would produce this effect. To bear out this assertion, it has been reported that a half- drilled implement has been found (outside this I area on the upper Hudson) in which the remains of the reed drill were found in the cavity left by its action.
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