The use of potsherds for abrading is reported from the Mississippi
alluvial valley area as far south as Memphis. It is a very minor trait.
The occasional finds point up this usage as a stop-gap measure when a
good stone abrader was not immediately available. This is a thing to be
expected in the relatively stoneless alluvial valley. At the Lawhorn
site 16 sherd abraders have been found. These show the same haphazard
use over their surfaces as do the stone abraders. Ten of them were from
Neeley’s Ferry shell tempered sherds and six were made from the sand
tempered sherds. Two of the Neeley’s Ferry abraders show only the narrow
pointed type of abrading groove while the other eight show the full
length and width abrading slots such as might have been used for arrow
shaft straightening and smoothing (Fig. 24;2, left). All of the sand
tempered sherd abraders show the pointed narrow type of groove none of
which are large enough to be used as shaft grinders (Fig. 24;2, right).
In spite of the fact that it appears that sand tempered and shell
tempered sherds represent two components with perhaps a considerable
time span between them, it seems most probable that this use of sherd
abraders is to be linked with the Mississippian component and that the
use of the earlier sand tempered sherds by the later people was simply a
convenience procedure. Two burned clay masses, of very sandy clay, were
also used as abraders. These were the pointed narrow type.
[Illustration: Figure 23. Mortars and Pestles]
[Illustration: Figure 24. Stone and Pottery Abraders and Stone Pipe
_(1. Stone abraders, 2. Potsherd abraders, 3. Stone pipe)_]