128 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [vOL. 45 



In the collection owned by Sefior Nenman, of Ponce, there is a 

 globular effigy vase representing a bird, the wings, head, and broken 

 tail of which are somewhat conventionalized 



A perforated cylindrical roller of terra-cotta, from the Arch- 

 bishop's collection, has its surface cut with an elaborate design. It is 

 supposed to be a potter's tool and to have been used in transferring 

 patterns to the surfaces of earthenware before firing. A circular 

 clay disk, upon which is graven a simple design, may have been used 

 for a similar purpose. 



WOOD CARVINGS 



The pre-Columbian West Indians were adept in carving, and 

 fashioned many implements, idols, and other objects from the hardest 

 varieties of wood. Their large canoes were manufactured from 

 the trunks of trees, and the highly ornamented paddles by which they 

 were propelled are mentioned by several of the early writers. 

 Cassava-graters, clubs, stools, serpents, idols, and sticks used to 

 induce vomiting are among the specimens of carved wood worthy 

 of description. 



Cassava- graters. — Flat or curved wooden boards with sharp stones 

 so attached as to make a rough surface on which to grind the root of 

 the manihot are represented in Santo Domingo collections. One 

 of the best of these is owned by Sefior Desangles of Santo Domingo 

 city ; another, in the collection of Senor Cambiaso, also of Santo 

 Domingo, has the sharp stones fastened to the surface of the curved 

 wooden board in geometric designs similar to those on Carib objects. 



Clubs. — There are several so-called macanas or aboriginal Antil- 

 lean clubs in Seiior Cambiaso's collection. Although similar imple- 

 ments were undoubtedly used by the Porto Ricans, no specimen 

 has yet been found on that island. 



The Smithsonian collection contains a broken ceremonial baton 

 from Santo Domingo, which may be considered under this head. It 

 consists of a shaft of wood, at one end of which is cut an animal 

 figure with a cap shaped like a bird. In general form this cap re- 

 sembles the stone birds sometimes found in Porto Rico, one of which 

 is owned by Mr. Yunghannis of Bayamon. There is every prob- 

 ability that this baton was used in a way somewhat similar to the 

 staves bearing animal images which were erected by the Indians of 

 Guiana on their burial mounds. A similar custom is described by 

 Gumilla, who mentions the use of like objects in the mortuary cere- 

 monies of the Salivas and other Orinoco tribes. 



Stools. — The natives of the West Indies made stools or reclining 

 chairs of wood or stone, to which they gave the names tiircy and 



