Note 294 — DEMOTIC CHARACTERS (continued 2)

The failure to discriminate natural objects from artificialized implements produced from such objects by wear of use is a noteworthy trait of primitive folk. It is conspicuous among the acorn Indians of California, who fail to apperceive the manufacture of their own mills and who conceive that their bowlder mortars and creek-pebble pestles, even when completely artificialized by a generation’s use, are merely found and appropriated; and a similar state of mind persists among the well-advanced Papago, who have no conception of making their well-finished mortars and pestles, or even the stone tomahawks occasionally surviving, but regard the implements as fruits of discovery or treasures-trove only.