FEWKES] ARCHEOLOGICAL TRIP TO WEST INDIES II 7 



One of the implements collected resembles a double-edged axe ; 

 it is oval in form when seen in profile, has a rough surface, and 

 is without a notch or groove for hafting. Several specimens show 

 marks of surface pecking, but not of chipping, their present finish 

 evidently having been produced by rubbing or polishing. 



There are several flat, rough, double-edged stone implements, each 

 with a notch cut on the opposite sides, evidently for the secure 

 attachment of a handle. This variety of celt is well represented in 

 the collections from Santo Domingo, but it has not yet been found 

 in Porto Rico. None of these is smoothly polished and not one is 

 petaloid in form. Other celts have a rough surface, and are pointed 

 at one end and broad at the other, with a ridge marking the place of 

 hafting. This type, which occurs more abundantly in Santo Do- 

 mingo than in Porto Rico, recalls Carib implements described as 

 having been found in the Lesser Antilles. 



Several implements of soft stone are pointed at one pole and 

 flattened to a cutting edge at the other. They have plane faces and 

 rounded edges, thus differing from the next group, in which the 

 faces are convex. There are no grooves or ridges for hafting. 



The majority of celts are called petaloid from the resemblance of 

 their profile to the petal of a flower. They are of all sizes and in 

 some instances are made of stone either rare or unknown to the 

 islands. The surface of these implements is convex and finely 

 polished, and their forms show variation in the length as compared 

 with the breadth. The cutting edge may be straight, slightly 

 curved, or at an angle to the axis. In a few instances the " pointed "' 

 end is blunt, but in no case is there a groove or notch for the attach- 

 ment of a handle. There is little doubt, however, that the celts were 

 once provided with wooden handles, the stone having been inserted 

 in a cleft in the wood and lashed with fiber or held with gum. 



In the Archbishop's collection there are three celts with the blade 

 and handle made of solid stone (plate xxxix). One of these 

 (figure 2) is rudely fashioned, but another (figure i) in point of 

 finish ranks with the finest known examples. 



Several writers on the archeology of the West Indies record the 

 existence of celts with heads or bodies cut in low relief on the sides. 

 A beautiful example of this work in the Archbishop's collection has a 

 human head and a part of the body and arms cut on one face, as 

 shown in plate xl, 3. This fine implement is termed a ceremonial 

 celt on the theory that it was used in Antillean rites. It probably was 

 not provided with a handle, which would have concealed portions of 

 the fisfure in relief. 



