202 



THE ABORIGINES OF POKTO RICO 



tho.se zemiK to which reference is made in early acfounts as liaving 

 been made from a branch of wood or the trunk of a tree. 



The author has fioui'ed in his account of zeviis from Santo Domingo 

 anotiier wooden idol, figure 38, with a canop_y over the head and an 

 ornamental band on the forehead. The arms are enlarged at the 

 elbows, and the hands resemble feet, with their palms turned out- 

 ward. This image stands on an enlarged base, l)oth idol and base 



being cut out of the same log 

 of wood. 



l)i(Ii<is, or stools made of 

 stone or wood, were common 

 in the hou.ses of the cacii|.ues. 

 These objects, consisting of 

 seats supported on four short 

 stump}' legs, generally rep- 

 resented animals, and a head 

 was carved at the upper or 

 lower end. The forelegs 

 often had depressions in the 

 shoulders, in which may have 

 been inserted stones, shells, 

 or nuggets of gold. The 

 upper surface of the seat, 

 especially the back, was some- 

 times decorated with designs 

 recalling those of collars and 

 idols, consisting of spirals, 

 circles, triangles, or parallel 

 lines. 



These stools were probably 

 used both secularly and cere- 

 monially, serving at times as 

 seats of honor in the house of 



tl ^ \\ kl iol Si t I 11 1 . , . 1 ,, 1 



the caciques, who themselves 

 occupied dnlios on stvte twcasions. The dead were often placed upon 

 similii seats, 'and C( itain ( li\ images already described had imitation 

 dxho'^ as has been pointtd out The great care given to the decoration 

 of stools shows how highly they were esteemed. 



A few specimens of these seats have been found in Porto Kico. among 

 which may be mentioned one now in Mayaguez and another in San- 

 turce. The Smithsonian collection has two from this island, and two 

 from Turks (Caicos) island (plate xciii). 



«Dr Liborio Leida, Eldorado: Mummified Body in Cist. See Im Thiirn. Ti, 



