NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS STRONG 59 



in diameter. Although the three pieces are evidently from the same 

 object, they do not fit together, and the nature of the object remains 

 obscure. The design suggests the warts on a toad or possibly the 

 scutes on an alligator's hide. Numerous vertical strap handles deco- 

 rated with heavy incised lines, crude punctures, and in one case two 

 raised " coffee bean " eyes are also present. One broken-off, rounded, 

 tripod base is especially noteworthy on account of its size (5.6 cm 

 in upper diameter), since it indicates that very large tripod vessels 

 of plain ware were in use. The remaining sherds are from types 

 already described or else without any particularly noteworthy 

 characteristics. 



Two almost complete pottery figurines (pi. 28, fig. i, e, /), two 

 unique pottery heads (pi. 28, fig. 2, c; fig. 13), and three detached 

 arms from such pottery figures were recovered. The complete figure 

 (pi. 28, fig. I, ^) is an unusual type. The projecting jaw, broad 

 nose, wide mouth, perforated ear, and incised necklace are note- 

 worthy. The arms extend down the body, and the fingers touch just 

 above the crotch. No sex is indicated, but a male is suggested by 

 the form and features. It is made of coarse red pottery, is 16.5 cm 

 in height, and is solid throughout. The second figurine (pi. 28, 

 fig. I, /) is very crude, and the arms are missing. It is of the same 

 material as the last, solid, and 12 cm in height. A crude attempt to 

 indicate costume, or perhaps merely to decorate, is indicated by the 

 roughly rectangular incised lines on the front of the body. The 

 features are amazingly crude, but the punctate eyes and l)road 

 nostrils suggest the better-made figure already described. However, 

 the prognathous jaw, projecting snout, and hump-backed appearance 

 are unique. The tempering in this figurine is coarse gravel, whereas 

 in the former it is much finer. 



The two pottery heads are likewise of different types, although 

 both are modeled from the same coarse red pottery. The first of these 

 (fig. 13) is crudely realistic. It is solid and stands 15 cm in height. 

 Particularly noteworthy are the " coffee l)ean " eyes, raised mouth 

 with the tongue showing, fiat incised ears, and the peculiar broken 

 handle for attachment or for holding. The realistically modeled neck 

 is broken off at the base. The second head is less realistic (pi. 28, 

 fig. 2, c) and has a small hollow inside, which opens into the basal 

 concavity through a small opening (2 cm in width) with a raised rim. 

 The aquiline nose, punctate mouth, perforated ears, and the large 

 punctate eyes with slightly raised rims, of this head are noteworthy. 

 The uses to which those two objects may have been put is uncertain. 

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