104 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 60 



grooved ax. It is observed that while tlie celt is found in great num- 

 bers in the adjacent West Indies, the grooved ax does not occur there, 

 the ax of the islands being of a totally distinct type. It is further 

 observed that the celts of the Florida region approximate more 

 closely those of the West Indies than do those of any of the more 

 northerly districts, suggesting intrusive influences from that direc- 

 tion. An examination of the material of which they are made may 

 serve to throw needed light on their history and on the relation- 

 ships of the people of the area with those of the West Indies. 



Mortars and pestles of stone are of rare occurrence. AVood was 

 in common use for these utensils, and examples of mortars and 

 pestles, as well as dishes, stools, masks, and figurines, of this material, 

 exceedingly well made, were recovered by Cushing frcan the canal 

 muck at Key ]\Iarco. 



Numerous ornaments of gold and silver have been found in the 

 peninsula. It is quite possil)le that some of the more elaborate pieces 

 reached the peninsula from IMexico or Central America subsequent 

 to the Columbian discovery, but that the native metal workers were 

 highly skilled is amply shown by numerous examples of the over- 

 laying of wooden ornaments and objects of bone with sheet copper 

 and by certain plates of sheet copper collected by Moore which dis- 

 play symbolic devices executed repousse fashion with much precision. 



Burial places and mounds yield a rich harvest of relics. A feature 

 peculiar to the peninsula is the inhumation with the dead of great 

 numbers of crudely shaped objects of baked clay, vessels of fanciful 

 shapes, and rude images of creatures and things real and fanciful, 

 manifestly intended for no other purpose than as mortuary offerings. 

 Urn burial, common in Georgia, was rare on the peninsula. 



There has been some discussion of certain supposed evidences of 

 the geological antiquity of man in Florida based on the discovery of 

 human skeletal remains, seemingly fossilized, embedded in geologi- 

 cal formations in the western part of the State, but it has been 

 shown that the age of these deposits is recent, the appearance of 

 petrifaction being due to the coating and infiltration of calcareous 

 and ferruginous matter present in solution in percolating waters. 

 The most remarkable evidence of age is that furnished by the shell 

 deposits, which are of great depth and horizontal extent and include 

 varieties of shells not now prevalent on the coasts. 



Decided relationships with the culture of Yucatan and the West 

 Indies have been looked for in vain, yet certain analogies more or 

 less pronounced do occur in pottery forms and decoration, in imple- 

 ments of stone and wood, and in the treatment of metals. The re- 

 lationships are not intimate, but a glance at the general facies of the 

 antiquities leaves the impression of trans-Caribbean kinship, which 



