NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS^ STRONG IO9 



polished ring, which sloped down inwardly from the edge to form a 

 rest for a pot. The complete artifact was evidently a concave ring 

 supported on three (or more) legs. The outer surface of the specimen 

 preserved is marked by incised squares enclosing faint circles, which 

 may have been faces (pi. 19, fig. i, g), and the outer surface of the 

 other piece (pi. 20, fig. 2, lower center) is marked by a joined series 

 of incised ovals. This is an interesting artifact type and was not else- 

 where encountered by us either on the islands or on the mainland. 



Another interesting group of artifacts comprises several crude mar- 

 ble bowls (fig. 30, j-ni). Seven of these were found at various depths, 

 and in the litter left by earlier diggers, but only two were preserved. 

 All are of white marble, and all have been considerably eroded, or 

 etched, since they were originally shaped, indicating some antif|uity, 



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Fig. 30. — Outline sketches of vessels left at Indian Hill, site i. a, small pottery 

 mask ; /-;«, small marble vessels. 



though the material is rather friable at best. The surface of each was 

 granular and crumbly with flakes of graphite and other harder 

 minerals composing the marble projecting. The best example (similar 

 to fig. 34, c) measures 12 cm across the mouth and is 8 cm in height. 

 It has three knobs for legs and is badly weathered and cracked, 

 with broken edges. This piece was found at a depth of about 2 feet 

 near the northern edge of the deposit. Three other pieces are similar 

 (fig. 30, /-/) but lack legs and are even cruder. Three are only slightly 

 concave and one has an end projection like a handle (fig. 30, ui). The 

 use to which these objects were put is unknown. Taken in conjunction 

 with the fine, unslipped but incised pottery from this site strongly 

 suggesting the exquisite marble vases of the Uloa River, these very 

 crude vessels of marble seem paradoxical. Possibly the marble avail- 

 able to the island people was of too inferior a grade to permit elaborate 

 incising, and the mainland technique was therefore applied in a some- 

 what simplified form to pottery. Whatever the explanation, the 



