FEWKES] ARCHEOLOGICAL OBJECTS 181 The ditferent forms of bowl handles and other fragments of pottery

thatwereexcavatedinthe

Cueva

delasGolondrinas, near Manati, are represented in plate lxxiii.

The

handles areingeneral similarand evidenth^belongedtocoarsebowls,vases,andollas. In similarforms a raised ring of clay served ^all the purposesof ahandle, but there wereoften added grooves withadjacent elevations.

The

handle

was

sometimes broad and flat,atother timesnarrow andround.

One

of the specimens represented on this plate has two solid knobs onthe rim; another is perforated just belowsimilar knobs.

The

edges of the handles of

many

vesselsarepinchedintoridges that

may

becor-

rugated, notched, orserrated. i

Hardly any two handles are exactlyalike; those onthisplate rep- resentonly the

more

tj'pical forms. These

show

that therewas an abundanceof red ware.

The

surface of this potteryin one or

two

instancesissmoothlypolished.

The

majority ofspecimensarehandles ofcookingpots,man_y ofwhichareblackened

by

soot

from

fire.

Every

collectionof Porto Rican ohjects contains l)urnt-clay heads (figure3-i),thathave been broken

from some

bowl,vase,or other pottery object. These heads vary in size, form, and other particulars,and are often fash ioned with considerable skill.

Not unusuaUy we

find consider- able fragmentsof flat dishesor bowlsattached tothem,showing that they are handles; but in

some

instances they were evi- dentlylowrelieffigures pressed on the surfaces of the vessels.

Theseobjectsaresometimes(-lUed zemis or idols,an identification thatismisleading, for there can hardly be adoubtthattheyaresimply portions ofbrokenjarsor vesselsexcavated

from

caves, shell heaps, ordanceinclosures.

PlatesLxxiv and

lxxv

give afairidea of the generalformsofthese clay heads.

The

latterhavelittlein

common

excepttheirlargeround eyes, fillets over theforehead, and mouths wideopen.

The

general castof

many

ofthespecimenssuggestsmonke}^heads,butthisresem- blanceisunintentional,beingdue^rathertothe

method

ofworkingclay intofacesadopted

by

theancientpotters. It isimpossibletoidentify the great majoritj'of these figurines, and they

may

be regarded as simplyfantasticforms usedfor decorative purposes,having nofurther importf)rmeaning.

Professor

Mason

gives several figuresof fragments that illustrate fairlywell the general character of Porto Rican pottery. Five of theseareheadswhich once decorated the rims of bowlsorvesselsof

182 THE

ABORIGINES OF

POKTO

RICO [eth.ANN. 25 other shapes; oneisafragmentofa platterwithaheadattached like a handle,and onerepresentsanincisedfragment.

He

writes:

Thereisnotanentire vesselinthecollection,allof thespecimens beingfrag- mentsofvariously.shaped, coarse,red pottery,well baked,oneortwopiecesbeing glossyonthesurface. Nearlyalloftheornamentationisproducedbyanimalforms lutedon. The mostofthesearemonkeyheadsadornedwithscrolled, circular,and fluted coronets,and bydeeplyincised lines,oftenforming very ingeniouspatterns.

Others bearhuman^{faces, allgrotesque,}andthefigures ofmythological animals. In oneofthemaW-shapedwreathorfestoonisluted ontheoutside.

A

fragmentof thebottom ofacupor jardeservesesjiecialmentiononaccountofthe ingenious labyrinthine design tracedonitbyadeepfurrowingproducedevidentlybya sharp instrumentwhenthevesselwassoft. Thisbold,deeptracingischaracteristic ofall the ornamentationonthepottery.

While

theauthorwas preparing this report

Dr

Walter

Hough,

of the National ^luseum,called his attentionto anotebook that accom- paniedtheLatimercollectioncontaining severalgoodpencildrawings of three-pointed stonesandcollars in that collection.

On

oneof the pagesofthisbookoccurs thisstatement, writteninan

unknown

hand:

Thefollowingdrawingsare copies

made from thosetakenby me of stone articles in the collection of Caril)curiositiesofGeorgeLatimer, esq.,ofStJohn [SanJuau]inthe island of PortoRico. Somespeci- mensofCarib potteryinthe same collection are also represented.

These wereallfoundinPortoRico, although I have collected similar specimensintheisland of StCroix, someofwhichare inthepossession ofthe LungIsland Historical So- ciety. .\ Ijattle-ax of stone, 15 incheslongand8incheswide onthe blade,foundinStCroix,waspresentedbyme^toMrLatimer,atwhoserequest these sketchesarenowsent totheSmithsonianInstitution.

Brooklyn, February11,1870.

Another drawing^{in this}notebookrepresents aneffigyvase ofsuch unu.sual shape that acopy^{of it is} reproduced in the

accompanying

cut(figure 35). Thisvase apparentlj'never

came

totheSmithsonian Institution with the Latimer collection, and is not mentioned by Professor

Mason

in hiscatalogue.

An

examinationof the otherdrawings in tiiisnotebook andacom- parison of

them

with the originalsfrom which theywere

made show

that,whilenot accuratein^alldetails,they arefairlygoodⁱⁿthegen- eral outlines.

For

instance, there are pictures, evidently' of the three-pointed idolswhich Professor

Mason

illustrates(figures40and

4:2inhisbook),showingthesalientfeatures ofthosespecimensclearly enoughforidentification. Thereis.therefore, everyprobability that thedrawingof the object labeled in thisnotebook an "earthenware

Vase withlianrlle.fromsketch, lection.)

FEWKES]

ARCHEOLOGICAL

OBJECTS

183

pitcher" is reliable for general form, even if not accurate in .some details.

Thislostvase of theLatimercollection has the

form

of a bird, of whichthe head is representedononeside,theneckonthe other, the

two

beingunitedbya handle.

The body

isovate, inclinedtoglobular, with indications of thewingsinreliefareason thesidesof thebodj^.

An

Antilleaneffigyvase of oneof the most interesting forms was collectedby

Mr Gabb

in Santo

Domingo

anddepositedintheSmith- sonian Institution. Although this object(plate lxxvi, a and «') is destituteofa head,^itsother characters are soremarkablethatit

may

beregardedas the most exceptional formof pottery

from

the

West

Indiesyetknown. Thisspecimen representshalfof a seated figure, one side being perfectlj' flat, the other rounded.

The

front view shows a portion of the head and the body,legs, and arms, the last mentioned being broughttothe breast. Representations of theribs andof several of the vertebral processes are

shown

in the sideview.

The

umbilicusappearsinboth figuresand malesexualorgansarevisi- ble.

The

thigh, indicatedbj^aring,

shown

in(/, isdoubleor broken atone point,as is

common

in incised decorations of thischaracter.

The

toes appear below the

rump;

the upper legand knee are well modeled.

In ^€ is represented a bowl

from

Archbishop Merino's collection which is exceptional in having its equator surrounded

by

a raised ridge of zigzagformindentedthroughout withnotches,and specimen hof the

same

platehas the surface decorated withincised linesanda facein reliefoneachside,bearinglikewisepitswithindentations that represent anteriorandposteriorappendages.

One

of the small globular bowls showzi in platelxxvii,oand a\

was

foundina cave notfar

from

Utuado, Poi'toRico.

From

^itsasso- ciationwitha necklace of stone beads,elsewheredescribed,andother offerings, thisobjectwasevidentlymortuary. Seen

from

thetop,it will be noticed that diametrically opposite each otheron the upper sidearetwo8-shaped dentate elevations, theonlyreliefornamentation of thevessel.

On

^thesidesof the bowl,fillingthe intervalbetween the 8-shapedelevations,are incised decorations consisting oftwocircles withpitsandparallel lines between them.

A

shallow incised groove surroundstheopeningof the bowl.

A

^sideviewreveals a portionof theflatbaseupon which the objectrests, an unusual featureinmost Antilleanbowlsandvases.

Inh is represented a bowl almost entire thatwas plowed

up

ina canefieldnearSalinas,Porto Rico, and, with the three three-pointed stones elsewherementioned,presented to theSmithsonian Institution by

Mr

Zoller. This bowl has a head inlowrelief seenon the right sidenear the rim, but thecorresponding head onthe oppositesideof thebowlismissing.

184 THE

ABORIGINES OF

PORTO

RICO [eth.ANN. 25

Specimencisacookingpot of coarseware excavated bytheauthor

in190;-! froma burial

mound

at thedance placenearUtuado, Porto

Rico. Ithas ahandleattached totherim not unlikeingeneral

form some

of those excavated in the

Cueva

de las Golondrinas,although themajority of

them

aredifferent. This potwas foundnear a seated skeleton and was evidently a mortuaryoffering. It probably once containedfoodor similarperishable substance.

In

d

andd'arerepresentedfragmentsofflatsaucersexcavated

from

theflooroftheCuev^a delasGolondrinas.

The

heads

upon

tiiem rep- resent

human

heads and were probably duplicated on the opposite rims of the saucers.

At

their side there are i-epresentations of the fing(>rsorfeet.

The

dish or bowl

shown

in e and e',obtained by purchase

from

Arch))ishop Meriiio, of Santo

Domingo,

is a significant specimen, showing

how

the clay heads so abundant in collections

from

Porto Ricowere attachedtotheirrespective bowls. Theirfrailunionwith the rim of the vessel is no doubt the reason these ol)jects were so oftenbroken

away from

theirattachments.

On

the side of this bowl, below the attached heads, are handles, recallingthebowlhandles alreadyfigured,andeachhead has atrian- gularlateralextension,supposedtorepresentfeetorappendages.

The

borderof thebowlisornamentedwith incisedlines.

The

mostbeautiful ofallthe^effigyvases

from

Porto Ricois

shown

in plate lxxviii,a and ^«'. This specimen,

now

in the Smithsonian collection,was purchasedin1904fromagentleman

who

hadobtained it a few years beforein a cave near

Aguas

Buenas, not far

from

Caguas, PortoRico. Thisvaseis

made

ofcoarse clayandhas arough surface; thebase ^is rounded,not flattened.

The

superficial decora- tions,both incised and in relief,occuronthe upperpart. It isnot whollyevidentwhat animal the

maker

of this object hadin

mind

to represent,butaviewfrom aboveshowsawell-made licad,atail,and four limbs.

The

face _(«)has elongatedej'es and a peculiar T-shaped nose with nostrilsontubercles,recalling

some

oftheflat stoneheadsandthree- pointed idols elsewhere considered.

The

ears, highly conventional- ized,consistofacurvedraisedridge arising

from

justabovethe eyes;

from

thisposition they extend laterally to

form

the eyebrows, and end in a ring-formelevation on the sides about on a levelwith the nosti'ils.

The

portion of the head above the forehead has a raised circular areain the middle, below which ^are two lateral tubercles.

These elevations correspond (juite closely in ari'angement with the ornamentation on

some

of the three-pointed idols,especiallyoneof the thirdtype figuredina previous plate.

On

^{the backof the head}

is an incised circle, and aroundthe neck a necklacein relief, with mediantubercles,possiblyrepresenting pendants.

ARCHEOLOGICAL

OBJECTS

185 The

twolegs,one oneachside,areverycharacteristic.

The

ante- rior appendage consists of a tubercle with a pit representing the shoulder, a slim forearm extending to an elbow at the rim ofthe bowl, and another forearm brought forward and ending in feet or fingers.

The

arrangement of the posterior appendages («') is

somewhat

similar.

A

thigh isrepresented on each side at theequatorof the bowl,and

from

itarisestheupper jointthatextends

backward

tothe knee,forming a projection with tubercle and pit.

The

lower joint ofthe posteriorappendageis bentforward and endsatthe

mouth

of the jar.

The

soles of the feetare triangular.

A

ridge extending directly

from

thethighjoint tothefeetof the posterior limbsincloses a triangular area, in the middle ofwhichthereis an incised circle with central dot. There is asimilarridge connecting the shoulder with the elbow of the anterior ^legs, also forming a triangle deco- rated with acircle and dot.

On

^the side of thebowl between the

two

pairs ofappendagesthere are

incised triangles, a semicircular groove,and rowsof pits.

The

globular bowl

shown

in plateLxxix,(/,«',oneofthefinest as well as themostinstructivein thewholecollection,

was

obtained by purchase fi'om Seiior Neu- mann,"ofPonce.PortoKico. Its surface hasbothreliefandincised decorations. Seen

from

oneside (figure 36)aretwoeyesin relief,

overwhicharearchedcrescentic ridgesthat

form

theeyebrows ridges

merge

on the middle line and form betweenthe eyes a low ridge, forminga nose thatbroadensslightly atthe extremity,

where

there are

two

pitsrepresenting nostrils. There^is noindication of a mouth; the eyebrows, eyes,andnoseappearinviewfi'omabove(see a').

On

thesidesof the bowl,behindthe eyes, are

two

flatoval areas inlowreliefcrossedbyparallel lines,suggestingappendages,possibly feet.

At

theendsof theselinesthere are smallpits,a

mode

ofdeco- rationfoundalsoonthe larger areas ofthisspecimen and

common

on otherbowlsanddecoratedfragmentsof pottery. Oppositethehead, ataboutthe

same

distance

from

theopeningofthejaras thehead,isa brokentail,which,likethereliefareasabove mentioned,iscrossed

by

parallellines,eachwithterminalpits.

Two

half -ovalregions,slightly raisedin reliefandsituatedbetweenthetailandthelegs,havepairsof parallel lines crossingone another aboutat right angles, thelinesof each pair inclosinga I'owofshallowpits.

The

four triangular figures

aEdiiardoNeumannGandia.Jienefactoresy liombres Notables dePuertoRico.2vols.,Ponce,1896.

\

Fig.36.Bird-eflig.vbOH1. (Neumann ollection.)

These

186 THE

ABORIGINES OF

PORTO

RICO [ETn.anx. 25

formed

by

this crossare occupied In"parallel incisedlinesendingor alternating with shallow pits. These

two

areas,

bounded

on one side

by

an incised gi'oove surrounding the

mouth

of the bowl, are representations ofwings.

The

bowl

may

l)e interpretedas an effigy of abird,thewings andtailtaking the

form

ofreliefareascrossed

by

incisedlines.

One

^ofthefinestspecimensofAntillean pottery inthewhole^collec- tion isfiguredon plate Lxxx,a, a'.anda". This object,purchased fi"omArchbishop Merino,of Santo

Domingo,

has been describedin the preliminary report of the expedition of that year. In its

form

this remarkable object is exceptional, ^\^hen seen

from

the broad side(a')itwill be noticed that thespecimenisflask-shaped,b\'reason of

two

lateral extensions, each resemt)ling a

human

breast tipped witha nipple. Itsneckisnot unlikethatof theIjottle-shaped vessel alreadymentioned,and bears on one sidea facewitheyes, nose,and prominentearsinlowrelief. Thisneckisattachedtothe

body

of the flask withpitch,but it isnotclearwhetherit

was

originally

made

ⁱⁿ

this

way

or had been broken and later mended.

The

base is flat

andcircular.

On

the surface of thevessel,surrounding the nipple- like terminations of the lateral

mammae,

are incisedgrooves inclos- ing other crcscentic lines,that are notcontinuousbut broken ^l)yan interval,a"'life door,"inwhich aretwoshort parallel incised lines, a repetition of the characteristic

mode

of Antillean decoration to whichreferencehasbeen

made

ⁱⁿprecedingpages.

The

surface of thisvessel is rough,showingevidences of former polish.

The

resemblanceof thelateralextensionsto

mamma;

andofthe neck to the male sexualorgan suggests that thisobject

may

havea phallic meaning; but whatever^itsimport,itisoneofthemostexcep- tionalh'formedvesselsyetfoundinthe

West

Indies.

The

instructiveandinterestingbowl

shown

in hand^h'wasobtained in Santo

Domingo by Mr

Gabb.

Although

its

form

is almost spherical, it has a pronounced equatorial ridgeand aneckwell dif- ferentiated

from

the body.

The

sides of this vessel are decorated withtwo heads

made

in lowrelief and placeddiametricallj'opposite each other,ashort distancebelowthe neck.

Each

headisaccompanied

by

raised figures representing hands with palms turned outward.

Above

the forehead are several ridges, forming a head ornament.

This specimen

may

beregardedasoneofthefinestpiecesofunbroken pottery

from

Santo

Domingo

in theSmithsoniancollection, andisof thetypeof several others,mostofwhichexiston!} infragments.

There are

two

other bottle-shaped pieces of potteryin the Arch- bishop Merino collection

from

Santo

Domingo,

l)oth of which bear facesin reliefonthe ^luick. Platelxxx,^c,representsoneofthese. It ischaracterizedbya globularform,andanangularequatorial elevation,