152 



ISLAND CULTURE AREA OF AMERICA 



lETH. ANN. 31 



tification, but the bi|eak in one side (pi. 76. B) is unlike any feature 

 in the many specimens thus far described. It may, however, be iden- 

 tified as an unfinished ax, or one the outlines of which have been 

 roughly worked out and then laid away to be polished and finished 

 at some later date. 



Many similar instances of unfinished implements are found in 



caches, which lead to the surmise that the 

 habit of partially finishing implements 

 and putting them aside was not uncom- 

 mon in the prehistoric West Indies. 



The object illustrated in plate 76, T, />, 

 is from the Guesde collection in the Berlin 

 Museum. This implement might more 

 logically be classified as a grooved stone 

 ax, having a well-marked furrow with en- 

 circling ridges on each side. On the blade 

 side of the groove this ridge is slightly 

 larger than that on the head. 



The beautiful finish of this specimen 

 ^' (pi. 74, B) did not fail to impress the 

 w) late Prof. Mason, and he gives a side 

 ■g view illustrating the gi-oove on the rim. 

 I As the perforation is not countersunk in 

 ^ this specimen, the author is inclined to 

 S believe that the two views (Mason's figs. 

 3 185-1 and 185-2) ascribed to the same 

 I. specimen really belong to two different 

 ^" objects. Prof. Mason's reference"* to 

 g tliis specimen is as follows: 



"A beautifully finished stone jiulley 

 [pi. 74, 5]. The points to be noticed are 

 the nearlv circular outline, the counter- 

 sink perforation, the curved slope of the 

 sides, and the groove in the circumference. 

 This last feature is unknown to the author 

 of these notes in anj' other stone imple- 

 ment. The edge view is enlarged to ex- 

 hibit the groove. Diameter, l/jj inches." 

 Guadelouije has furnished several pre- 

 historic mortars which as a rule have 



9. MOKTARS 



the .same form as those from the St. Vincent area and are 

 almost identical with others in various islands from Trinidad to 

 Cuba. This uniformity is to be expected on account of the simplicity 



»s Op. clt., p. 819. 



