92 THE ABORIGINES <>F PORTO RICO 



This was an important discoveiy and should be followed up by later 

 students of Antillean methods of stoneworking-. It should l>e borne 

 in mind in this connection that man\' objects are made of a kind of 

 stone resembling jadeite, which thus far has not been found in situ in 

 either Haiti or Porto Rico. The nearest iocalit}^ where the rough 

 material out of which some of the prehistoric objects were fashioned 

 ot'curs is in South America, man}' miles away, and these at least were 

 not manufactured on the islands where they were found. 



Every collection of aboriginal objects from the West Indies which 

 the author has examined is rich in stone implements, differing in 

 character, size, and form. The surfaces are either i-ough or highly 

 polished, and, as a rule, the specimens are made of a hard volcanic 

 rock, similar to that used in the manufacture of idols and amulets. 



Various forms of these implements are well described and figured 

 in Professor Mason's articles on the Latimer and Guesde collections, 

 in Doctor Stahl's Los Indios Borinquenos, and in the various publi- 

 cations of Mr ira Thurn. Mr liichard Quirk" tigures and describes a 

 scries of these objects which includes the more striking forms peculiar 

 to the Lesser Antilles. But while the majority of these stone imple- 

 ments are of Carib origin, the likeness of manj' to the implements 

 used by the ancient Porto Ricans is so close that there can be no mis- 

 take in considering them typical of both races. In a general way 

 these stone objects may be classified under the following heads: 

 1. Celts; 2. Axes; 3. Paddle-shaped stones: 4. Smoothing stones: 

 5. Curved stones. 



Celts 



The stone celts from the Antilles nia_y be roughly classified as fol- 

 lows: 1. Celts of almond or petal shape, with no indication of groove 

 or distinct enlargement for hafting; :2. Axes or stone implements with 

 single cutting edge and notches on opposite rim, generally flat or 

 slightly curved; 3. Celts with head enlai-ged, the diameter being 

 greater than the thickness of the blade, the ends being notched or 

 continued into ears; 4. Celts witli grooves for hafting, single cutting- 

 edge, butt or head blunt, sometimes continued into projections. 

 These tj'pes, which vary in essential points, are connected b}- many 

 a})errant forms. This classilication is essentially that suggested by 

 Professor Mason in his account of the (iuesde collection. The celts of 

 prehistoric Porto Rico generally belong to the first type, those from 

 the Lesser Antilles to the others. 



The petaloid celts are beautifully shaped and generally highly pol- 

 ished. They are oval in section and circular or ovate in outline. In 



"Carib stone Implements in llie Horniman Museum. Hdiquary and JUustratcd Aicheotogisl, \iii, 

 no. 3. 169-181. Hegives many figures of Carib stone and shell implements. For additional matter 

 on this subject sec Dr H. F. C. ten Kate's article on West Indian Stone Implements and Other Indian 

 Relics, in Bijdruiji ii tut de Tnal Land en Votkenkunde van Ncderlaudsdif Indie, iv. 



