10(i THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO [eth. axx. 2." 



fonsidered the lower stone, that upon which the material to be g-round 

 is laid. This may have the form of a mortar or mar be simply a flat 

 slab of stone. The former tj'pe has a depression to hold the material 

 and is used for substances which require pounding; the latter, as a 

 rule, has no such concavity. Some mortars are ornamented by pro- 

 jections on their rims. 



The Latimer collection contains a few mortars which have not yet 

 been figured and three other specimens, not Porto Rican in origin, 

 that have been called mealing stones. These last were probabh- 

 introduced by Spaniards and should not be regarded as prehistoric 

 objects. They have the .same form and are made of the same material 

 as metates, common in all parts of Latin America. 



The first five mortars considered by Professor Mason are aboriginal, 

 as are likewise those in the (luesde collection mentioned by him. 

 These specimens show very well the variety in form of these objects, 

 but present no essential differences from those found in Central, North, 

 and South America. Identical metates occur in Arizona ruins and 

 were in use among the ancient pueblos. 



Although the three-legged metates mentioned by Professor Mason 

 are regarded as imported by the Spanish colonists, it must be borne in 

 mind that metates of this form have been reported from all the West 

 Indian islands. Thus, Doctor Duei'den speaks of similar metates from 

 Jamaica, and figures two beautiful specimens, one of which has an 

 animal's head on one side, the other beautif ullj' decorated legs. Doctor 

 Duerdcn calls attention to the fact that "forms similar to these two are 

 commonly employed to-day in Central America for grinding maize and 

 now and again are met with amongst the peasantry of Jamaica." It 

 is well to remember, in considering the existence among the West 

 Indians of metates so closely resembling the Mexican, that corn 

 formed a considerable proportion of the food of the aborigines of Porto 

 Rico. They possessed a grinding implement, consisting of a board on 

 the surface of which sharp stones were attached, for grating the root 

 of the manioc (Jlanlhot vf-illtissima) in the preparation of cassava, but 

 this was quite unlike a stone metate in shape, con.struction, and use. 

 A metate would be ill adapted for grinding the root of the manioc, 

 and on the other hand the manioc grater would be unsuitable for acorn 

 grinder. Maize was no doubt imported into the island from Mexico or 

 South America, and with it may have been introduced the three-legged 

 metates. Benzoni gives an account of the method of grinding maize 

 and making tortillas, accompanied with a good figure. 



The peasantry of Porto Rico now generally use a coi'ii mill which 

 was introduced by the Spaniards. This mill ma\' be seen in operation 

 in many of the cabins in the isolated mountain regions. It consists of 

 two circular millstones, an upper and a lower, each about a foot in 

 diameter and both liaxinu' I'adiating grooves on one side like the stones 



