AKCHEOLOGICAL OBJECTS

By

farthemost important means

now

availableforthe interpretation oftheculture of the prehistoricPortoRicansisastudy of archeolog- ical objects that are being broughtto light

by

chance discovery or scientificexploration.

When

theextenttowhich prehistoric objects

may

aid us inan interpretation of aboriginallife is

more

generally

90 THE ABORIGINES

OF

PORTO

RICO [eth.ann. 25 rocognized, additionalefforts willbe

made

topreserve suchspecimens for the archeologist. Porto Ricohas^l)eenparticularlyfortunatein this regard. Ithas had man\-localstudents

who

have been interested in the aboriginal ^historj- of the island and

manv more who

have pre- servedrelics,awaiting the time

when

^scientific

men

woulduse

them

in theirstudies.

One

finds fewwritings on ^this subject prior to themiddleof the nineteenthcentury and cancount almost on hisfingersthe published works on Porto Rican archeology

up

to the present time,although severalcollectionsof prehistoric objects

made

^l)vlocalcollectorshave driftedinto

museums

or privatehandsinthe I'nited Statesand

Europe

orstill remain ontheisland.

The

Latimercollection,whichisthe largest ever

made

ontheisland, andhas attracted the

most

attention,waspresentedtotheSmithsonian Institution

by George

Latimer. It

was

described in 187t> by Pro- fessorO.T.Mason,thenestorof

American

ethnology. Thispublica- tion,themost complete account^of Porto Rican antiquitieswhich has appeared, stimulated an ever-increasing interest in the subject that was heightened bytheannexation of theisland totheUnitedStates.

In 1898,

more

than a quarter of acenturyafterMason's catalogue of theLatimercollection first appearedinprint,

owing

to the increased

demand

for information regarding the antiquities of the island,the Smithsonian Institution reprinteditas Ijcingstillthe best

work

extant onthesul)ject.

The

authorconsiders himself fortunateinbeingabletoincludeinthis articledescriptionsof the objectsⁱⁿtheLatimercollection,andhe has

drawn

largely

from

Professor Mason's

work

in

many

quotationsscat- teredthroughthe following pages.

In considering the material

from

PortoRico,

when

necessarycom- parative data from otherislands,as Santo

Domingo

and the Lesser Antilles,have beenintroduced. PortoRicowas^thecenter ofan Antil- leanculture but the

same

or analliedculturewas foundinneighboring- islands,so that it isnot wellat present to limit thisreporttoPorto Rico,notwithstandingthe relatively greatsizeofcollections

from

that island.

It is unfortunate in

some ways

that the exact ^localitieswhere the objectswere foundcan not be stateddefinitely,and itisequallytobe regretted that

we

donot

know

accuratelywhether oneor

two

of the specimens were collected in Santo

Domingo

or Porto Rico. There were two, perhaps three, different races

—

the Carib, the

Arawak,

and possibly an archaic population of cave dwellers

—

^{in Porto Rico}

before theadventofColumbus. It

may

bepossiblelater todistinguish the objectswhich belongedto each of these different peoples,but at presentitisnot.

FEWKES]

ARCHEOLOGICAL

OBJECTS 91

The

avcheological objects treated in the followiug desci'iptions include stone implements, three-pointed idols, stone collars, stone headsand masks, amulets,pillarstones,ornamentsof stoneandshell andbonecarvnngs,potterj^,

wooden

objects, idolsof stoneand wood, andvariousother specimens. Inthe

same

general category arelike- wise included pictographs, or rock etchings, andother archeological evidences of aboriginallifewhich stillremain ontheisland.

The

forms,nolessthan the tine technology exhibited intheabove- mentionedgroupsof prehistoric objects,stampthe culture towhich they

owe

theiroriginashighinthescaleof development. Suchtine

productscould nothavel)eenthe

work

of an unskilled people. These objects are characteristic, dift'ering essentially

from

those found on theneighboringcontinent,sothat

we may

designate the areainwhich theyoccurasaspecialculturearea, distinct

from

allothersanddeserv- ing of thespecitic

name

by whichithasbeendesignated.

This culture reached itshighest developmentinthe

two

islandsof Porto Rico and Santo

Domingo,

so that the causeswhich led toits evolution

must

besoughtinthe insularconditionsunder whichitwas evolved.

The

specimens

show

little to indicate their age, but the developmentofa peculiar cultureliketheAntilleanisnot theproduct ofafewyears, butrather of long periods of time, which implies that

man

has inhabited the

West

Indies

from

remoteantiquity,longenough to lead togreatspecialization in theartiticialproducts thathave sur- vived him.

But

it is also highlyprobable that the ages of these objects

may

bedifferent,forwhile

many

weredoubtless inuse

when

the islandswere discovered, others,as thestonecollars, had already passed out of useatthat time.

Many

so-called prehistoric implementswere doubtless Itrought to Porto RicobyIndians

who

weretransferred

from

neighboringislands as slaves or b}-those

who

voluntarilysought

homes

there

from

over theseas. In the light of this knowledge it becomes a complicated problemtoreferthese objects to their rightful makers, and

we

have notin ourpossession the dataadequateto solve it inawiiollysatis- factory^manner.

Itisremarkable,aswaspointedout byProfessor

Mason

regarding theLatimercollection, that ''thereisnotinallthe collection asingle flakedorchippedimplementor weapon."

The same

^is true of the

many

hundredsofstoneimplementsobtained^{Ijj^}the author,andthus farthere hasnotbeen discovered inPorto Rico evidence of chipped stone,notevena singlearrowhead.

The

i-ougheststone objectsfound

show marks

of polishing.

Mr

Frederick A.

Ober

states that Doctor Llenas, a physician of Puerto Plata, "describes an aboriginalwork- shophe investigatedina cave intheSanto

Domingo

mountains,where hefoundman^-fragmentsofchippedtools,but noperfectspecimens."

92

THE ABORIGINES

<>F

PORTO

RICO

Thiswas an importantdiscoveiyand should be followed

up

bylater students of Antillean methodsof stoneworking-. Itshould l>eborne in

mind

in this connection that man\' objects are

made

of akindof stoneresemblingjadeite, whichthus farhasnotbeenfoundinsitu in either Haiti or Porto Rico.

The

nearest iocalit}^ where the rough materialout ofwhich

some

of the prehistoric objectswere fashioned ot'cursisinSouth America,man}' milesaway, andthese at leastwere notmanufactured onthe islandswhere they werefound.

Every

collection of aboriginal objects

from

the

West

^Indieswhich the author has examined is rich in stone implements, differing in character,size,and form.

The

surfaces are either i-ough or highly polished,and, as a rule, the specimens are

made

of a hard volcanic rock,similartothatusedinthemanufactureofidolsandamulets.

Various formsof these implementsare well described and figured inProfessorMason'sarticles ontheLatimer and

Guesde

collections, in DoctorStahl's

Los

Indios Borinquenos, andin the various publi- cations of

Mr

^iraThurn.

Mr

^{liichardQuirk"tiguresand}describes a scriesofthese objectswhichincludesthe

more

strikingformspeculiar totheLesserAntilles.

But

while the majority of these stone imple- ments ^{are of} Carib origin,the likeness of manj'to the implements used

by

theancient Porto Ricansissoclosethat there can benomis- take in considering

them

^{typical of} both races. In a general

way

these stone objects

may

be ^classified under the following heads:

1. Celts; 2. Axes; ^3. Paddle-shaped stones: 4. Smoothing stones:

5.

Curved

stones.

Celts

The

stone celts

from

the Antillesnia_yberoughlyclassifiedasfol- lows: 1. Celts of

almond

or petal shape, withnoindication of groove ordistinctenlargementforhafting; :2.

Axes

orstoneimplements with single cutting edge and notches on opposite rim, generally flat or slightly curved; 3. Celts with head enlai-ged, the diameter being greater than the thickness of the blade, the ends being notched or continuedinto ears; 4. Celtswitli groovesfor hafting, singlecutting- edge, butt or head blunt, sometimes continued into projections.

These tj'pes,which varyin essential points,are connected b}-

many

a})errant forms. This classilication isessentiallythat suggested by Professor

Mason

inhisaccountofthe(iuesdecollection.

The

^celtsof prehistoric Porto Ricogenerallybelongtothe firsttype, those

from

theLesserAntillestothe others.

The

^{petaloidcelts}are beautifullyshaped and generallyhighlypol- ished.

They

are ovalinsectionandcircularor ovate inoutline. In

"Carib stoneImplementsin^llieHorniman Museum. HdiquaryandJUustratcd Aicheotogisl,\iii, no.3.169-181. Hegivesmanyfigures ofCarib stoneandshellimplements. For additional matter onthissubject secDrH.F.C. ten Kate's articleon West Indian Stone ImplementsandOther Indian Relics, in Bijdruijiiitutde TnalLandenVotkenkundevan NcderlaudsdifIndie,iv.

i-EWKEs]

ARCHEOH)GICAL

OBJECTS

93

rare instancesthey are found decorated with carvings of grotesque facesinrelief.

The

weaponsofthePorto Ricanswere

wooden

clubs, called//uuxmas, or swords pointed atone end,with a cross stick like a sword hilt.

They

had also javelins of hard wood, which they threw withgreat force,and

bows

andarrows. Although the}' are said to have used

bows

and arrowsderived fromthe Carib,nostonearrow pointshave yetbeen found,and^itisprobaV)lethat theseaiTowshadtips

made

of boneor shark'steeth,or of spines of therayorothertishes.

The

his- torian Inigo statesthat theywere skilful inshooting,but that they didnotpoison the points of their spears orarrows,asthe Indians of theOrinocovallev did: the endsof the arrowsof the Porto Ricans were hardenedby^tire.

Specimens with blades and handles of stone

show

the ordinary

method

of hafting the prehistoric stonecelts used bythe aboriginal

West

Indians,but all petaloidcelts are destituteof grooves,except onespecimen in a small privatecollection, inwhichagroove ^iswell marked.

While

the majority of theceltsarepointedat one end and rounded ontheiredges,theirlongest axisbeingatright anglestotheir handles,

many

are

more

massive,and bluntat both ends. Thereare specimensinwhichthe longest axisisinlinewith the handle.

Characteristic stone implements, called

from

their shape paddle- stones,occurin

many

collectionsand appearto have been foundinall the

West

Indies. These haveacircular,triangular,oreven a

more

orless rectangularform,terminatingin

some

specimens in a bifur- catedtip. Itwould seem that

some

of these

may

have beenusedas a

means

ofcarryinglivecoalsforvarious purposes, suchashollowing out log's in the tii-ststages of canoe making.

The

forms of these objectsgradesoimperceptiblyintothose ofceltsprovided withhandles thatin

some

instances it isverydifficulttodistinguish the

two

t3'pes.

A

^{group of} artificially

worked

stone objects of

unknown

use are called polishing- stones. These have a variety of shapes and vary considerablyin size,

some

being quitelarge,othersminute.

Many

of these objects

were

sharpenedatone endoratboth ends.

The

use ofcurvedstonesislikewiseproblematical.

Many

of these aremassive and in

some

specimens thecurved extensions arebifur- catedat their extremities.

Examples

of this type are figured in several publishedarticleson

West

Indian stone implements andgood specimensofthetypearerepresentedinProfessorMason'spublications.

A number

of paddle-shaped stoneimplements,

some

being of con- siderable size,have a circular or a roughlytriangular shape. Their handles are sometimes curved, rarely bifurcated at the pointed end.

Stones of thisshape areoften of greencolor,of arock

unknown

on the island,and

may

be thoseimplementsofwhichChai'levoixspeaks ashaving beenbrought

from

the

Amazon

valley. In^thisgroup

may

94 THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO

RICO [eth.axn.I'o lieclassed certain boot-shaped or crescentic stones of

unknown

use, whicharefoundinseveralcollections. Others belongingto this

group

arecalled, forwantofabettername,smoothingstones.

Celts

made

of conch shells are very

common

in Barbados, the

Bahama

islands,andin

some

oftheLesserAntilles,but veryfewof these objects have been found in the larger

West

Indian islands.

Where

thiskindofceltoccurs thereisno hardrockavailable,andtheseimple- ments afford a most instructiveexampleof the effect ofgeological environment onprimitiveart. 1

know

ofonlyone Porto Ricanshell celt

—

^{thatpreserved in the collectionof ^Ir}Yunghannis. Like the Barbadosspecimens,it is

made from

thelipofaconchshell,showing well-markedsigns ofchipping alongitscutting edge.

The

specimensfiguredinplate xiillustratethegeneralformsofsmall stonecelts collected in PortoRico.

As

will l)enoticed,theyassume

many

shapes

— ^from

^{that of a chisel to the} broad-edged battle-ax.

The

endopposite the cuttingedgeisgenerally pointed,jus'tifyingthe

name

petaloid, but this end ^is often })lunt, rounded, oreven flat.

The

one feature that they all share

—

^{that which} distinguishes the true Porto Rican

from

theCarib stone ax of StVincent and other islands of the Lesser Antilles

—

^{is the absence of agroove for the}

attachmentof ahandle. This isnot peculiartoany one

West

Indian island,for petaloid celtsoccurinall islands,

from

Trinidad toCuba, inclusive.

ItoftenhappensthatthePortoRicanstoneimplementiselongated into achisel-likeinstrument,

many

specimensofwhicharcrepresented in platexi. Several of these might

more

properly be designated celts,rejiresentinganintermediate

form

between astonechiseland a petal-shapedweapon. Thesestonechisels are sometimes highlypol- ishedandaregenerally

made

ofvery hardstone. Plate xishowsalso representations of otherformsofstone implements

from

PortoRico,

some

beingchisel-shaped,othersalmosttriangularinprofile,andstill others oblong.

The

implementsoftheoblongtype,being destitute of sharpenededges, could not properlybecalledeitherchiselsor celts, as their real use is not known.

The

stonecelts are called b}'the country people to-day jnedru del rayo, ''thunder stones," and the almostuniversal belief inthe

West

Indies is that they are thunder- bolts,causedb}'lightning. There arefiguredin platexii fiveof the most nearl\- .symmetrical and most highly polished petaloid celts obtainedinPortoRico.

The two

uppercelts

shown

in this plate,froma caveatCayuto,near Utuado,

were

found,one on each side of aglobular vase containing severalhundredstone beads,and

may

beregardedassaci'ificialofferings.

A

good specimenof aceltofsoft stoneis

shown

inthecenter of the lowerseries,tothe right of whichis a celt of the hard green stone resembling jadeite or serpentine, that probably

came

fi'om South

ARCHEOLOGICAL

OBJECTS 95