8 W. J. Perry — Cultural Significance of the use of Stone 



the Polynesians and their ancestors does not depend upon 

 local supplies of stone, but is a definite element of their culture. 

 If no stone is present in a place where it is needed, then it is 

 brought from a distance. More than that, the practice of 

 transportation of stones from one settlement to another shows 

 that religious and magical ideas were bound up with the use 

 of stone, and it will be interesting to see the nature of these 

 ideas. 



The use of stone in the great region running east from 

 India is mainly confined to three classes of structures : tombs, 

 ceremonial enclosures, and stone circles. Sometimes, but 

 rarely, houses, or house-foundations, are made of stone, but 

 these can be put on one side for the present purpose. Stone 

 is only used for houses in definite cultural circumstances that 

 I have already discussed fully in another place. I wish to call 

 attention to the stone circles. 



Stone circles are far more widely distributed throughout 

 India, Indonesia, and the Pacific than any other form of stone 

 structure. They are invariably used as council-places, and 

 for ceremonial purposes. The society with which they were 

 connected is based on the clan system. Each state was com- 

 posed of a number of clans, each connected with some sort of 

 emblem, either animal, plant or material object, and each clan 

 formed an autonomous unit that conducted its own affairs. 

 Also, in some instances, where a definite ruling class existed, 

 the heads of the various clans formed a council of the tribe or 

 the state, presided over by a member of the royal family, who 

 fulfilled the office corresponding to that of Vizier in ancient 

 Egypt. Throughout the region of which I am speaking, in 

 places where the custom of holding councils still persists, 

 council meetings are held in stone circles, the members sitting 

 on stones ranged in a circle. As has been said, in Nias, an 

 island west of Sumatra, these stones are taken to the site of a 

 new village, which is obviously in order that the sanctity of 

 the old meeting-place may be transferred to the new. The 

 custom of making stone circles for the purpose of council- 

 meetings has persisted after that of erecting dolmens and 

 pyramids has disappeared. That is because the clan council 

 persists, even when a ruling class that used dolmen graves had 

 disappeared. The clan council is one of the most persistent 

 of elements of culture, and that well accounts for the survival 

 of the stone circle. 



Throughout this vast region, also, rulers, when engaged 

 in council meetings, also sit on stone seats. This is a sign of 



