U-Shaped “Ornaments” Identified as Finger-Loops from Atlatls

U-shaped objects of shell or stone that occur commonly in northern and western Mexico have usually been identified as nose or ear ornaments. It has been found, however, that shell objects of this type appear as lashed-on finger-loops on two Mexican atlatls preserved in European museums, and this serves to identify the whole class of objects. A brief survey of the distribution of such finger-loops is given.