﻿iKUki | PORTO KUAN STONE COLLARS »75 



largements on the posterior and anterior points, obscurely represenl 

 ing lu-ads and feet. These may be regarded as connecting links 

 between this and the first type. 



THEORIES OF THE USE OF STONE COLLARS 



The theories 3 that have been advanced in explanation of the use 

 of the Porto Rican ring-stones arc almost as numerous as the writers 

 on the subject; but unfortunately not one of the theorists lias carried 

 his hypothesis far beyond a simple suggestion. It may be interesting 



to mention a lew of these theories, limiting the reference's to stone 

 collars found in the Antilles, and waiving for the present a discussion 

 of their relationship to die stone yokes and collars of Mexico and 

 Central America, concerning which there is considerable literature. 



Mr. [osiah Cato* writes thus of one of these collars brought from 

 Porto Rico by Mr. E. 1'.. Webb: 



" With regard to the probable use or purpose of these rings, 1 can 

 give no information, but shall be very much obliged for any sugges- 

 tion or for hints as to any works likely to contain such an account 

 of the customs of the nations at the time of the Spanish invasion, as 

 may afford a clue to the mystery. Such elaborate pieces of work in 

 hard stone could not have been intended to serve either a temporal' 

 or trifling purpose. They are all far too heavy for ordinary use, but 

 vet not heavy enough to kill or even to greatly torture the wearer, 

 if we regard them as collars of punishment." 



One of the early references to these collars occurs in Dr. Daniel 

 Wilson's work on The Archeology and Prehistoric Annals of Scot- 

 land (pp. 156-157) : 



" But perhaps the most singular relics of the Stone Period ever dis- 

 covered in Scotland are two stone collars, found near the celebrated 

 Parallel Roads of Glenroy, and now preserved at the mansion of 

 Tonley, Aberdeenshire. They are each of the full size of a collar 

 adapted to a small Highland horse; the one formed of trap or whin- 

 stone, and the other of a fine-grained red granite. They are not, 

 however, to be regarded as the primitive substitutes for the more 

 convenient materials of later introduction. On the contrary, a close 

 imitation of the details of a horse collar of common materials is 

 attempted, including the folds of the leather, nails, buckles, and holes 

 for tying particular parts together. They are finished with much 

 care and a high degree of polish, and are described as obviously the 

 workmanship of a skilful artist. Mr. Skene, who first drew atten- 

 tion to these remarkable relics, suggests the probability of the peculiar 

 natural features of Glenroy having led to the selection of this amphi- 



M\costa's theory that the tripointed stone was united to the stone collar. 

 forming a serpent idol, is considered at the close of this article. 

 2 Proc. Society of Antiquaries, 2d ser., vol. iv, no. 5, pp. 215-216. 



