46 BULLETIN 15 6, TJlSriTED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



vanced in explanation of the circular Porto Rican juegos de bola or 

 ball courts, that they were used as a sort of a stadium or amphi- 

 theater duriiijs: native ceremonials and athletic contests, is perhaps 

 adequate in explaining their presence. As they are always in 

 parallel it would seem that the sports or ceremonies took place in 

 the cleared space between them. This space is normally about 150 

 feet wide, or about half the length of the parallel mounds. The 

 first mention of this form of Dominican aboriginal mound was by 

 Schomburgk in an article in the Athenaeum in 1851. 



Another form of mound was observed by tl^e writer elsewhere in 

 the island, nameh% a circle of stones near the headwaters of the 

 Chaquey. Here a circle of upright stones 300 feet in diameter 

 surrounds a flat space overlooking the valley of the river. Two 

 entrances to this court are placed at opposite sides of the circle. At 

 the exact center stands a plain stone pillar 2 feet in height. A 

 similar circle had been erected by the Arawak at what is now known 

 as San Juan de Maguana in the Province of Azua. The ruins of 

 this circle were observed b}' the writer and the impression imme- 

 diately gained is that of some prehistoric race track, modern even 

 to the placing of a stand for the judges. Of course, this similarity 

 is purely fantastic and the use to which tlie structure had been put 

 in prehistoric times is perhaps similar to that of the parallel em- 

 bankments in the valley of Constanza. Sir Robert Schomburgk 

 described this circle at San Juan de Maguana in 1854. It has been 

 carefully preserved by the Dominican Government and is readily 

 accessible by automobile on the main highway from Port au Prince 

 to Santo Domingo City. A similar stone structure in the form of 

 a circle has been described from several South American sites, the 

 nearest being those in British Guiana. Similar circles from ancient 

 Peru were described by Humboldt, and by C. Barrington Brown 

 from British Guiana. 



Don Miguel Rodriques-Ferrer in the Comjite Rendu of the 1881 

 International Congress of Americanists, meeting at Madrid, refers 

 to two localities in the eastern part of Santiago Province, Cuba, 

 where there are circles, squares, mounds, and inclosures. These, he 

 says, resemble in general character those of the Mississippi Valley. 

 They are also described in his book, Naturaleza y Civilizacion de 

 Cuba, Volume I, Chapter HI. 



In an article by C. Barrington Brown entitled " Indian Picture 

 Writing in British Guiana " the observation is made that a batey 

 or ball court occurs in the Pacarima Mountains in Venezuela. 



The nearest approach to ruins of this description in prehistoric 

 Porto Rican structures are inclosures surrounded by aligned stones, 

 set on edge, which occur in the less-frequented parts of the island. 



