12 BULLETIN 14 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



in the valley. The peninsula as a whole is undeveloped and is almost 

 entirely covered with nondeciduous forests. If we are to judge from 

 the size of the midden and the quantity of cultural remains from 

 the Indian village site at the moath of the Rio San Juan, agricul- 

 ture on the peninsula in pre-Columbian times was more extensive 

 than it is to-day. 



While working the site at San Juan living quarters were estab- 

 lished at the Finca de la Esperanza, an abandoned cacao plantation 

 picturesquely located among the mountain ridges which traverse the 

 entire length of the peninsula. The finca was well adapted to our 

 purposes, being healthfully located in a region high above the mos- 

 quito and fly infested coast. Each morning the long journey down 

 the mountain trail to the coast was made on the backs of the rather 

 ill-tempered diminutive stallions belonging to John King, a Domin- 

 ican who became our patron and guide. The more powerful but no 

 less sure-footed bulls carried back up the mountain trail our newly 

 acquired specimens of natural history, pottery, and other cultural 

 objects, and occasionally even a member of the expedition back to the 

 finca in the cool of the evening. The success of the expedition de- 

 pended in no small measure on the skillful management of our native 

 cook by Mrs. Miller, who also acted as official interpreter for our 

 party. 



The greatest difference observed in the artifacts recovered from 

 the two shores of the bay was the almost entire lack of decorated 

 pottery from the caves of the south shore. In fact, the entire absence 

 of pottery was noted at some of the caves where implements of shell 

 and utensils of a seemingly extemporized nature prevailed. It is 

 believed that these cave deposits are pre-Ciguayan and are not related 

 to the finds of decorated aboriginal pottery from the north shore, 

 which are decidedly Tainoan (Arawakan) and of a much later date. 

 The site at Anadel produced a plentiful supply of decorated and 

 plain pottery fragments characteristically Porto Rican in type. One 

 of the striking discoveries at San Juan was the large number of 

 pottery fragments which resemble in every detail the peculiar type 

 of pottery discovered by Dr. J. W. Fewkes at the Cueva de las 

 Golondrinas, near Manati, in Porto Rico. Several varieties of pot- 

 tery were uncovered at San Juan, while at Anadel there was not 

 such great variety in types. 



Large quantities of leg bones of pigeons were recovered at the site 

 of San Juan. With this exception and that of the worked manatee 

 ribs, excavations there revealed the same variety in animal and bird 

 bones as at Anadel. 



The site at San Juan was intensively worked for a period extend- 

 ing over a month, from 6 to 22 men being regularly employed. 



