256 ISLAND CULTURE AREA OF AMERICA [eth. ANN. 34 



the first colonists of the island, but we know little of their language, 

 arts, names, and customs, and lack a basis for comparing them with 

 peoples of North America or South America. It is probable that 

 these people were lineal descendants of those Avhose semifossil skele- 

 tons found in cares have excited so much interest. No evidence has 

 yet been presented to prove that this race had vanished when Cuba 

 was discovered by Columbus. 



The prehistoric objects from Cuba in the Heye collection have been 

 greatly augmented in numbers since the author began his studies of 

 the collection, and as these additions should be considered as a unit 

 bjr their indefatigable collector, Mr. M. R. Harrington, it would not 

 be justice to him to anticipate an_v of his discoveries by further com- 

 ment in this rei^ort. The author has, however, introduced the pre- 

 ceding quotation from his account of the jirehistory of Cuba, as it is 

 a part of the work that has been done in prejiaration for this general 

 discussion. 



In a new field of research like the Antillean. when energetic col- 

 lectors are annually adding so much new material, a delay in prepa- 

 ration of this report has rendered some of its results antiquated be- 

 fore they were published. This is as it should be, and it is a great 

 satisfaction to feel that a subject like Cuba, of which so little was 

 known .when the author began his studies of the West Indies, has 

 attracted so many other younger and better equipped archeologists. 

 In antiquities from Cuba the Heye collection is one of the richest in 

 the world, but there are many objects from that island in the Berlin 

 Museum, collected by Bastian, and a very fine collection in the Uni- 

 versity Museum of Habana. 



ISLE OF PINES 



The largest outlying island of Cuba is the Isle of Pines, which 

 shows evidence of being inhabited in prehistoric times by Indians, 

 who have, unfortunately for science, left little to indicate their 

 culture. We may suppose from this paucity of material that they 

 were low in development and allied to the natives of the westei'n 

 end of Cuba, as no objects of Tainan culture have yet been found 

 on the island. 



The author spent several weeks at the capital, Nueva Gerona, 

 from which, as a base, he visited all parts of the island. He dis- 

 covered a few Indian skeletons in one of the numerous caves (cuevas 

 de los Indios) near that city and investigated the sunken pits called 

 Indian cacimbas, Ijut found no artifacts that seemed to him ade- 

 quate to determine tlie relationship of the prehistoric inhabitants. 

 There is no collection of Indian antiquities from this island in 

 the University of Habana : and, although since the author's explora- 



