380 THE LATIMER COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES. 



or slightly concave in outline in front, a little convex in the rear, 

 swelling out on one side slightly more than on the other, and descending 

 more or less lower than the top of the head and of the rump so as to 

 form anterior and posterior furrows. The whole appearance cannot fail 

 to remind the student of the legend of Typhoeus killed by Jupiter with 

 a Hash of lightning, and buried beneath Mount iEtua. Though no one 

 could use this resemblance as an argumeut in favor of early communi- 

 cation between the Greeks and the primitive people of Porto Rico, yet 

 the Typhoean legend has been found in many lands, and it is quite possi- 

 sible that a similar myth may have beeu devised in various placps to ac- 

 count for volcanic or mountainous phenomena. The Antilles are all of 

 volcanic origin, as the material of our stone implements plainly shows. 

 I am indebted to Prof. S. F. Baird for the suggestion that, from the sea, 

 the island of Porto Rico rises in an abrupt and symmetrical manner, 

 highly suggestive of the mound in the mammiform stones, so that 

 with the aid of a little imagination we may see in these objects the 

 genius of Porto Rico in the figure of a man, a parrot, an alligator, an 

 albatross, or some other animal precious in these regions where larger 

 animals are not abundant, supporting the island on its back. The Ty- 

 phoean figure undergoes many modifications in the series examined, and 

 doubtless, if the specimens in other collections could be placed by the 

 side of these, inauy more interesting results could be reached. The 

 human face is often replaced by the head of a bird or of some other aui- 

 mal, but the feet when distinguishable are always human. The bottom 

 of the stone is in striking contrast with the upper surface. While the 

 latter is nearly always exquisitely polished, the former is always very 

 rough, either from use or never having beeu fiuished. The bottom is 

 sometimes flat, sometimes convex, but most frequently sagged up in 

 the middle and hollowed out into a cymbiform cavity. Iu such cases 

 the object rests unsteadily upon the chin and knees, the under side of 

 which is polished by wear. In quite a number of them the prostrate man 

 cauuot be clearly made out, his head and lower extremities being pre- 

 sented by simple swellings or knobs. A variety of details is noticeable, 

 which will appear in the following description of the objects, since I have 

 been unable to find two precisely alike. 



16980. A highly polished specimen of marble. There is a wide head- 

 band across the forehead of the figure, ornamented with chevrons and 

 hemispherical cavities. The right side is the fuller, the bottom concave 

 and rough, and the apex slightly battered. This battering is doubtless 

 an accident, as none of the others exhibit it. Length 10.3, width 4.5, 

 height 5.3 inches. (Fig. 35.) 



10981. This specimen is of a light-bluish material. The head and 

 breast of an albatross replace the human head. On either side of the 

 breast and on either side of the front of the mamma is a cup-cutting. 

 The furrows at the base of the mamma in the front and rear are wide 

 and deep. The bottom is warped up and hollowed out. Length 11.95, 

 width 4.5, and height 4.9 inches. (Fig. 30.) 



