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9.

gins convex and the angle blunt, wider than long.  [[underline]]Hyo-plastron[[/underline]] with anterior marginoblique and straight and antero-medial concave.  Anterior third of its lateral margin free, of which the anterior half convex and the posterior half concave.  The free edge is rounded and comparatively thick.  The rest of its lateral portion extending lateral-dorsally, forming [[underline]]axillary process(buttres)[[/underline]] and the antero-ventral part of the bridge, medial about straight, posterior slightly convex.  Hypoplastron about equal to [[underline]]hypoplastronin[[/underline]] size or slightly longer.  Its anterior and posterior margins slightly concave, medial not quite straight.  Anterior half of its lateral portion, extending lateral-dorsally, forming the postero-ventral part of the bridge and the [[underline]]inguinal process(buttress)[[/underline]] and posterior half of the lateral portion forming a smooth gently convex margin.  Average length of either [[underline]]hy[[strikethrough]]p[[/strikethrough]]oplastron or hypoplastron[[/underline]] about equal to its average width.  [[underline]]Xiphiplastron[[/underline]] with anterior margin slightly convex, medial about straight, posterior concave and lateral margin in two sections each of which is convex especially the anterior one.  The anterior margin is more than twice the posterior in length.
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There were a great deal of trimming to be done before either the scapula or the plastron could be used.  In the case of scapula the following one ^[[(Plate IX)]] may be taken as a typical example.  The dorsal side made entirely flat; the spine and the coracoid process were entirely taken off, the dorsal half of the glenoid cavity was sawed away, leaving the ventral half as a sort of rim for the whole plate which was evenly trimmed all over.  On the costal side, the surface was also made fairly smooth.  There are evidences that even the cavities on the dorsal side were first scooped in the preliminary trimmings; they are mostly almondlike, but sometime circular, and oval.  It is interesting to inquire what kind of tools might have been used in trimming these bones.  Judged by the marks left by them on these bones, the whole peraphernalia must include the following tools: saw, file, knife, chisel, drill. and grinder.  Some of these at least must be made of bronze.

In treating the plastrons, similar tools were probably used.  First of all the scutes must be skinned off, as only the bony plate was good  for oracle use.  Like the scapula, the whole surface was made smooth by filing down the different eminences and smooth away