4 rKrTKODUCTION. 



tine, hematite and slate often constitute the materials of groimd articles. 

 More precise statements will Ije made in the proper places. 



Though the Smithsonian collections chiefly embrace aboriginal manufac- 

 tures, ancient and recent, derived from the northern half of the continent, or, 

 in other words, from the vast territory bounded by the Atlantic and the Pacific, 

 the arctic regions and the southern frontier of Mexico, it possesses, in addi- 

 tion, many valuable specimens, and even large collections, from the Antilles 

 and from Central and South America. Perhaps the most important of these 

 collections is one from Porto Rico, presented by the late Mr. George Latimer, 

 for a long time a resident of that island. It comprises many specimens of 

 pottery of a peculiar character, and several hundred articles of stone, among 

 them one hundred and twenty-seven celts, numerous pestles, masks, rubbing- 

 stones, and, above all, a rich series of those curious oval or horse-collar-shaped 

 objects, which have for many years attracted the attention and elicited the 

 comments of archaeologists, both in Eiu'ope and in America. This collection 

 is probably unsurpassed by any other derived from the Island of Porto Rico. 

 The Central American States are represented by hundreds of specimens of 

 pottery and objects of stone, some of them of remarkable character. The 

 large stone idols obtained by Mr. E. G. Squier in Nicaragua, and described 

 and figured by him in his well-known work on that State, are among the most 

 valued relics of the National Museum. Peru has furnished a large collection 

 of pottery, consisting of one hundred and twenty vessels moulded in the 

 peculiar style formerly prevalent among the aborigines of that country, and 

 also a number of mummies, or rather desiccated human bodies. The other 

 parts of South America — Chile, Guiana, Brazil, and even the southernmost 

 region of the continent, Tierra del Fuego — have likewise contributed their 

 share to enrich the Museum of the capital. 



In conclusion, it should be stated that the Smithsonian collections are not 

 derived exclusively from America, but that they likewise embrace manufac- 

 tures of many races of other parts of the world. Thus, there may be seen in 

 the Museum a great variety of relics pertaining to the prehistonc ages of 

 Em-ope, such as rude flint implements from the drift of Prance and England, 

 articles of stone, horn and bone found in the celebrated caves of the Dordogne 

 (Southern France), a large and varied series of Swiss lacustrine antiquities, 

 and many neolithic weapons and tools from Denmark and other districts of 

 Northern Europe. Still more numerous are weapons, utensils, textile and 

 ceramic fabrics from Asia, Africa, Australia, and the island groups of the 

 Pacific. Many of these products of art, including the boomerang of the 

 Australian savage and the cai'ved war-club of the Feegeean, as well as the fin- 



