FEWKES] ARCHEOLOGICAL OBJECTS 141 



some of those which decorate the ends of stone pestle handles. Pos- 

 sibly the hands were represented in this unnatural position to suggest 

 the attitude of a burden-bearing god or goddess, whose pei'sonator in 

 ceremonies supported a bundle on the head or back in this waj'. The 

 attitude recalls an idol of the Calchaqui of Argentina, figured by 

 Ainbrosetti." which he is inclined to identify as that of an earth god- 

 dess. The sex of the majority of amulets in human shape from Santo 

 Domingo is not generally represented, but one specimen was undout)t- 

 edly intended for a male. 



Amulets with arms raised above or at the sides of the head are not 

 always figures of human beings, for in some instances these fetishes 

 have bodies of animals, with heads more or less anthropomorphic. 

 This characteristic position of the arms is nevertheless a good feature 

 to use in a provisional classification of fetishes of the human form. 



The general form and appearance of these amulets are figured in 

 plate LVii, e and fZ, showing specimens from Porto Rico, from the side 

 and the anterior end. The specimen designated d and d' is one of the 

 largest of these yet found in the island, resembling, when seen from 

 the side {d), a crouching animal, the head being somewhat elevated. 

 The base, or the lower side on which the object rests, is the back 

 of the animal and the upper part the breast and the abdomen. The 

 fore legs are raised above the head in specimens hitherto mentioned. 

 Holes by which the object was suspended are situated below these 

 appendages. Specimen h is smaller than that designated «, but has 

 the same general form, its head being somewhat larger than the other 

 in proportion to the size of the body. 



The first type of amulets is represented in the author's Porto Rican 

 collection by a specimen of which three views are shown in plate 

 Lvii, (I to a". This object, which closely resembles that represented in 

 Mason's figure 32, was purchased from Senor Benito Fernandez, of 

 Luquillo. together with many other specimens of aboriginal manufacture 

 from eastern Porto Rico. This smoothly polished amulet is made of 

 light green stone mottled with black. It measures 2 inches in length and 

 a little less than 1 inch across the shoulders and hips. Seen from the 

 front, the head seems to rise directly from the chest, but from the side 

 the neck is seen to be a mere constriction. The nose and chin are 

 prominent, but the eyes and mouth are only obscurely indicated; there 

 are incised horizontal lines across the forehead; the arms are raised 

 and scratches representing fingers appear at the sides of the head in 

 the normal place of the shoulders. The legs are contracted, giving 

 the figure a scjuatting attitude, and the toes are indicated by markings. 

 The virile organ is prominent. Two perforations for suspension are 



« There jire many resemblances between Arawak prehistoric objects and those of the Calchaqui of 

 Argentina. These likenesses, like those of the Pueblos to the Calchaqui, are interesting coincidences 

 of independent origins. 



