ARCHEOLOGICAL OBJECTS 105 Imbert collection, now in Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo, copied

from

sketches by the author.

A

^peculiarly formed rubbing stone of dumb-bell shape, an implement of

imknown

use, is here

shown

(/). Although the pestles represented in this plate are in the

main

of the

same

general outline as those already de- scribed, specimens / and j have

somewhat

dif- ferent forms, especiallyA-a bird-shaped pestle, to judge

from

the head and limbs

—

^{having a}

t)ird face like that of specimen^_/'.

One

of the objects (n) is elongated,with pointed head and with indications of alens thatisalxsent

from

the preceding figures on this plate. Another (r)

has the handle swollen

midway

between base

andtip. "'"""" '''"""'"

The

dumb-bell-shaped formsofpestles

shown

in this plate ^(/./. ///)

recallthoserecordedby HoctorHuei-denfromJamaica.

Several stoneimplements.Hgured on plate xxvii, were probablyused, for grinders,but they are different in form from any implements 3^et ii'ferred to.

Some

of these are [x'stles; others depart considerably fromthattype.

One

specimen{o)isan almostbell- shaped implement of elongated form, rounded below, its handle terminating in a well-made head;

/>has arude head cut on one end.

and /has a conicalheadatthe apex, the base beingHat.

From

thefact that one surface is flattened, speci-

men

^fjisconsideredtobea polishing stone, an inference which ^its gen- eral

form

also would indicate. It

may

have been usedinpolishing the surface of potteryhefoi'e tiring or ingrindingpigments or other sub-

•<tances. Its general character, as that it isanartificial, nota natural.

.4

Fig.14.Bird-shapedpe*-tlefrom SantoI)<

_ mingo well as the

worn

form.

;urface, sliow^

MORTAI;.-

Inhis classificationofmealing implements Professor

Mason

^distin- guishesbetween upper and nethermillstones.

The

pestlesthat have alreadybeendescribed belongtothe firstgroup: there remainstobe

10(i

THE

ABORIGINES OF

PORTO

RICO [eth. axx.^2."

fonsidered thelowerstone,that

upon

whichthe materialtobe g-round is laid. This

may

havethe

form

of amortaror

mar

besimplyaflat slabof stone.

The

former^tj'pehas a depressiontohold the material and is used forsubstanceswhich require pounding; the latter,as a rule, has no suchconcavity.

Some

mortarsare ornamented bypro- jectionsontheirrims.

The

Latimercollection contains afew mortars which havenot yet been figured and threeother specimens, not Porto Ricaninorigin, that have been called mealing stones. These ^last were probabh- introduced by Spaniards and should not be regarded as prehistoric objects.

They

havethe .same

form

andare

made

ofthesamematerial as metates,

common

in allpartsofLatinAmerica.

The

firstfivemortarsconsideredbyProfessor

Mason

are aboriginal, as are likewise those in the (luesde collection mentioned by him.

These specimens

show

verywell the varietyin

form

of theseobjects, butpresentnoessentialdifferences

from

thosefoundinCentral,North, andSouth America. Identical metates occur inArizona ruins and wereinuse

among

the ancient pueblos.

Although

thethree-legged metates mentioned byProfessor

Mason

areregardedasimported

by

theSpanishcolonists,it

must

bebornein

mind

thatmetatesofthis

form

have beenreported

from

allthe

West

Indianislands. Thus,DoctorDuei'denspeaks of similar metatesfrom Jamaica,and figures

two

beautiful specimens, one of which hasan animal'sheadon oneside,the other beautifullj'decoratedlegs. Doctor

Duerdcn

callsattention to thefactthat

"forms

similartothesetwoare

commonly employed

to-dayinCentral

America

forgrinding maizeand

now

andagain are

met

with

amongst

the peasantryof Jamaica." It is well to remember,in considering the existence

among

the

West

Indians of metates so closely resembling the Mexican, that corn formeda considerable proportion of thefoodof theaborigines ofPorto Rico.

They

possessed agrindingimplement,consisting of aboardon the surface ofwhich sharpstoneswere attached, forgrating the root of themanioc(Jlanlhotvf-illtissima)inthepreparation of cassava, but this

was

quiteunlike a stone metateinshape, con.struction,and use.

A

metate would be ill adapted forgrinding the root of the manioc, and onthe otherhandthemaniocgraterwouldbe unsuitable foracorn grinder. Maizewas no doubt importedintotheislandfrom

Mexico

or South America, andwithit

may

have beenintroduced the three-legged metates. Benzonigivesan account of themethod ofgrinding maize and

making

tortillas,accompanied withagoodfigure.

The

peasantry of Porto Rico

now

generally use a coi'iimillwhich

was

introduced

by

theSpaniards. Thismillma\'be seeninoperation in

many

ofthe cabinsintheisolatedmountainregions. Itconsistsof

two

circular millstones,an upper anda lower,each about a foot in diameterandbothliaxinu'I'adiatinggrooves on oneside likethe stones

FEWKEsl

ARCHEOLOGICAL

OBJECTS

107

of iiHourmill.

The

lowermillstone rests onthe floorofthe cabin, whereitistemporarilyplaced foruse. Thereis fastenedtothemid- dleofthis stonean iron rod projecting-abovethe surface about an inchand titling intoa holein theupper millstone. Thisholeispar- tiallyclosedb\'a

wooden

bar inserted into aslotof the upperstone, leaving a spaceoneachsidethrough which the corn to beground is

dropped,topassⁱⁿduecoursebetweenthestones.

On

theupperside of theupperstoneisaneccentricpit,into whichtits arod suspended from theroof of thecabin.

When

this primitive mill is set

up

for use, the

woman who

works it kneels before themill,grasps the sus- pendedrod,andimpartstoit a rotary movement,causing the upper

^>tonetorotateonthe lower, stationary,stone,all thetimefeedingin thecorn that laterescapes between the rims of the millstones inthe formof meal.

This

form

ofmillwasnaturallyadoptedinthose countriesin which themetatewaslittleused. Althoughcorn {Zeamays)is

now

eatenin certainparts ofPorto Kicobythepeonclass,especiallyintheisolated regionsaboutthe

Yunque

and Cacique mountains, wheremillsofthis kind are

common,

it is probablethatin prehistoric times the rotary millwas

unknown,

while the stone metate

was

a favorite implement

among

the people.

The

largermortars here described

may

have been usedascooking- vessels,although

frpm

the soot found on

some

of the pots

made

of burnt clay thereis no doubtthat potteryvesselswere emplo3'ed for thepurpose.

The

smaller mortars

may

have been put to suchuses as grindingcondiments, paints,or tobacco leaves, or

making

sacred meal.

The

flat stones,with surfaces not hollowed out, would have served for avariety'of purposes,

among

which

may

have beenbruis- ing plantstoobtainfibersforweavingtextilesofvarious kinds.

The

objects

made

ofgoldwereevidentlyfashioned intoshape by

hammer-

ing. This couldhavebeendoneonl}^))y

means

ofstones,forsofarasis

known

theaborigines of Porto Ricowerenot acquainted with theart of smelting gold. Suitable flatstones

may

haveserved as anvils for beating-goldnuggetsintothedesiredornaments.

Severalmortarswerecollected bytheauthorin his visits to Porto Rico, especiallyin 1904. Plate xxviir shows four of theseobjects, three ofwhichclosel}'resembleone another. Littlecanbeadded by description to

what

is

shown

inthefigures, except that thespecimens designated«, h,and

d

arehollowedout ononeside,while e is flat on topand base,hinting- thatit

mav

not have had the

same

use as the other three mortars. Possiblyc was used forgrinding paint, while seeds orherbswereplacedintiiemortarscontainingcavities. Pestles were employed with the latter type,but not with that represented bv^c.

IDS THE

ABORIGINES OF

POKTO

RICO [eth.ANN. 23

Spucimene niio-ht

more

properly becalledastone^))o\vlthan amor- tar,althoughitsfunction

may

have beenthat ofthelatter. Itis

made

with great care and shows skill in processes of stoneworking not inferior to that exhibited in the manufacture of stone rings or of thi-ee-pointedidols.

Anotherobject./', isafragmentof astonecollarbrokenatthefer- rule, evidentlyputtouse secondarilyasapestle,the

two

extremities showing

marks

of such use. Several specimens of broken collars or of broken three-pointed stones thathave been usedsecondarily as pounding-implementsoccurin alllargecollections

from

PortoRico.

PlateXXIX. tiand^7).represents theupperand lower surfaces of an (wceptionally tinefragmentof a stonemortarof the

Neumann

collec- tion. Evidentlyit wasoriginally astonetrencher ofci'cscenticform, withliandles ateach end.

Whether

this objectwasusedas a mortar or a platter^isnot possibletodetermine,butthefact thatitisofstone leadsto the beliefthatithadtheformeruse.

The

hemisphericobjects

shown

inthisplate,^t;andd,are interpreted asrubbingstones. Theirflatsurfaceissmooth,asif

worn

so

by

con- stantuse.

The

specimen figured as^< is one of the finest specimens of stone mortars in the Meriiiocollection. Its

form

iselongated andpointed atoneend,where the rim rises in alowprojection.

The

surface of theconcavity closelyfollowsthat of the exterior of thevessel and is fairlysmooth.

Plate XXX. ^If,illustrates atypeof stone implement,several speci-

mens

ofwhich occurincollectionsofprehistoi'icPoi'toRicanobjects, but the function of which ^is

unknown. The

illustration shows the specimen from one of the flattened sides,the l)rcadth being nearly double the thickness.

The

base isflatand smooth, andthehandle of aboutthe

same

diameter throughout, withthetipsbifurcated,the

two

extensions or horns being slightlycurved. Various formsof stone impli'inentsof

somewhat

similarcharacter arealso

shown

^(fj,c,and/?).

The^'are all

more

orlesstriangularin proflle. rounded onthefaces, and

more

orlessflattened.

One

edge

commonly

shows evidences of rubt)ing. asif ithad beenused as a polishingimplement.

The

speci-

mens

are

made

ofdifl'erent kinds of stoneand^areasarulerough and undecorated. Specimen"wascollected bytheauthor, whileh. <\and^<l areintheLatimercollection.

Beads and Pendants

The

caciciue(iuacanagarigavetoColuml)usastring of 800 beads of stone. (Hill, and mentionof these ornaments is frequently foundin early writers. There are several specimens of stone ^{l)eads in} the

ARCHKOLOGICAL

OBJECTS ]Oil

Fi«.1.'>.AniHlet.

Latimercollection,one string containino- 70, which Professor

Mason

thus described:

A

string of 70smallchalcedonybeads,about thesizeof peas. Theyare quite per- fectlyrounded andperforated,someofthemin twodirections. This isthemost remarkablesampleofaboriginalstone polishinganddrillingthathas evercome undertheobservationoftiiewriter. Itisexceedingly doubtfulwhetheranother collection ofsomanywitnessestosavage jjatienceand

skillhasbeenfoundanywhereinonespecimen.

According- to

Ramon Pane

the

woman

Gua- bonito(g'ood ruler)gavethe hero

Guagugiana much

guanine(gold)and cihe,coltclhl (stones),

"that he might carry

them

tied to his arms;

forin those countries the coleeih!are of stone, very like marble,and they wear

them

aboiit theirwrists andnecks: andthe Guaniniswear

them

at their ears,

making

holes in

them when

they are \\ti\o.and they sound like fine mettle."

The

above-mentioned string of beads is excelledby onecollected at

Utuado by

the author in 1904.

The Utuado

specimen (plate XXXI,(i)is

more

than5 feet long,containing several hundred beads, large and small, a worthy gift

from

a cacique. It was found in a bowl (plate Lxxvir. a.,a'}, evidently sacrificial, and with it were another string, also a fine one,and

two

pendants, one of .stone,the other of shell. These beadsvary in size but are neverround like thoseinthe stringfirstdescribed above.

Many

havelateral perfora- tions,asiffor the insertion of feathers or otherobjects,and in

some

specimens the perforation is confined to a simple pit.

Another

specimen (c) is one of several stone objects of cylindrical form, with a raised band

midway

in its length and perforations at the opposite edges.

The

raised band in one

known

specimen isdecorated with what reseml)les a

human

hand. Illustration h repre- sents a

brown

nonperforated stone of

unknown

use.

Therearc

two

specimensof this

form

inthe collection, one of which

came

withthe Latimer gift. Specimen

d

^is a spherical stone girt bya groove,having a per- forationthroughan elevationthatis pinched

up

atone pole.

A

^stringcan be introducedintofigure

d

^to

show

the position ofthis hole.

The

object

shown from

frontandsideinfigures15andIti

may

pos- siblyberegardedasa pendant,althoughcloseh-relatedtothe frontal amuletslaterconsidered. Itis

made

ofawhitestone,possiblvmarl>le, perforatedlaterallyasiffor suspension,havinga

human

figui-ecutin Fig. 16.Amulet

(.sideview).

110 THE

ABORIGINES OF

PORTO

RICO [kth.ANN.2.-i

reliefon oneface. Theseillustrationswere

made from

sketchesgiven totheauthorby

Mr W.

F. Willoughbv,treasurer ofFortoRico.

Stunk

Halls

Among

^the

many

objectsfoundnear theso-called jiicgosdehola,or ballcourts, of Porto Rico

may

bementioned certain sphericalstones which^constantlyoccurin collections

from

this island. These stone ballsvary from thesizeofa marbleto twofeetin diameter.

Many

of

them

were undoubtedly ^naturally formed by running water, and evidentlygathered

from

the beds of rivers andcarried to thevillage sitesforapurpose;others

show

good evidences of having been

made

spherical

by human

hands.

In thecourse of his tra\('ls in PortoRico theauthorcollectedsev- eralstoneballs,astheyarepopularlycalled,ascribedtotheaborigines oftheisland. It isconmionlysupposedthat theseballswereused in a

game

called batey^but as they are

made

of stone,while Oviedo speaksof thehaU'i/ballsas

made

^ofakind of

gum,

thisinterpretation evidently does not apply. These ^lialls, varying

from

the sizeof a marbletoseveralinchesindiamet(n'. are, asarule,moderatelysmooth, even

when made

of thehardestrock. Whileitisnot impossible that theywere used in games,

some

of (iiemwere intended for otherand farditferentpurposes.

Thatthese objectswere used bythe Indiansin ball

games

sucli as Oviedodescribescan not be believed,because that author says that elastic balls of vegetable sul)stances, capable of rebounding, were employed in theballgames; but these stones ma}'have been usedin ball

games

of otherItinds,ofwhich

we

have norecord. Theseobjects arcalmostuniversally associatedIn*the country- people with thejuegoit ill-hola.and regardedasofaboriginalmanufacture.

Two

other theories of their use are suggested:

They may

have been put ontheridge poles of cabins,asliguredby Oviedo,toweight

down

theroofs,or they

may

have been

employed

asfetishes inceremonials for rain, following awell-knowncustom

among

primitive people.

As

llicse stones are found in ornearwater and

nowhere

else,by aeon- fusion ofeffectandcauseitwasbelieved thattheymust have brought the water.

As

water-worn stones are regarded bj'other peoplesas eliicaciousinpi'oducing water, soit

may

have beenthatthe aboriginal Porto Ricansin theirprimitivereasoningsoughtoutandprized these spherical stones for use in rain ceremonials for crops. There^isno stivtenient to this eft'ect in early writings, and the theory here sug- gested issimplyinferred

from

practices

common among

otherjjrimi- ti\e,peoples.

The

specimens designated c,/",y, on plate xxxi, are spherical or ovate stonescollected at different pointson the island.

Many ^more

wereseenl)utthev areallsimilartothoseherefigured.

1-EWKEs]

ARCHEOLOGICAL

OBJECTS 111 TlIREK-PoiNTEU StONES

The

objectsinrludcd in thi.sgrouparecharacterized bythreepro- jectionsor points.

The

formofthese projectionssuggested

mamnne

toProfessorMason, andled

him

todesignate

them

in hiscatalogue of the Latimercollection

mammiform

stones. Butthisappellationdoes notapply,as will be seen later,tocertain types of theseobjects,and sinceall types possess three projections the

name

three-pointedisa

more

appropriate terin by which to designate them. These three projections

may

becalled theanterior,the posterior,and the conoid.

The

first

two

are situatedattheends of theslightlyconcave^flatside, which

may

becalledthebase.

If

we

supposethe objectsetonthis sidetheconoid projection issit- uateddirectlyopposite thebase. Itwillbefoundthatitsapex,except inrare cases, tips slightlytoward the anterior point.

The

anterior projectioninmostinstancesismodifiedintoa head,butinatype

from

which this head is absent the conoid projection still tips

somewhat

toward onepoint,which, onthat account,

may

])e called theanterior projection.

The

geographicaldistril)utionofthree-pointed stones isconfinedto asingleregion of the \VestIndies, nanielj',Porto Picoandtheadjacent easternendof Santo

Domingo. They

have notbeen reported

from

Cuba, Jamaica,theBahamas,or theLesserAntilles,and no specimen hasbeenfoundinNorth,Central,orSouth America.

Three-pointedstonesfallnaturallyintofourclasses: ₍₁₎Thosewith aheadontheanteriorandlegsonthe posterior points; (2)thosewith a faceon onesideof theconoid projection; (3)thosewiththeconoid pro- jection modified intoa head orface; (4)smooth spei'imens,destitute ofhead,face, legs,orincised superficialornamentation.

TYPE WITH HEAD ON

ANTERIOK

AND

^LEGS

ON

POSTERIOR PROJECTION

The

majority of theseidols belongtothistype,whichiswell

marked

and readily distinguished from the one next following. It is not alwayspossibleto recognize the formof the legs,for the posterior projectionoften resembles a second head, butnospecimenhas yetbeen found whichis clearl}' bicephalic.

The

axis of thebaseissometimes warped,

now

toonesideand

now

to the other,suggesting rightsand

lefts,butasa ruleisstraight.

The

surfaceisgenerallj'smooth,butin

some

specimensis

marked

byincised superficialdecorations,pits,and inoneinstancebyafewwart-likeexcrescences.

Remnants

of asuper- ficialpaintor pitch arefoundintwospecimens. Onlyinrare instances (figure 18)areanterior as well as postei'ior limbs cut on the stone.

The

classificationofthistypeismainlybasedonthe

form

ofthe head.

The

three-pointed stones of thefirsttype

may

be dividedintothree groupsthat

may

bereadil\'distinguished: (1)Thosewith

human

heads;