42 ANNUAL REPOKT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



modifications in decorative devices derived from feathers, birds, and 

 other animals, and conventional figures are likewise discussed. One 

 object of Dr. Fewkes's treatise is to meet a growing desire of those 

 interested in primitive symbolism, and another is to define the pecul- 

 iarities of one ceramic area of the Pueblos as a basis for comparison 

 with others, thus facilitating the study of Pueblo culture origins and 

 prehistoric migration routes. 



As tlie construction of the Panama Canal has tended to stimulate 

 an interest in aboriginal remains in the West Indies, and as many 

 archeological specimens differing from those of the Antilles previ- 

 ously known are now being brought to light, the time for a scientific 

 study of them, as well as of the aboriginal sites of the West Indies, 

 has arrived. Much of the interest recently manifested in early In- 

 dian life in the West Indies may be ascribed to Dr. Fewkes's memoir 

 on " The Aborigines of Porto Eico and Neighboring Islands," which 

 appears in the twenty-fifth annual report. Since the publication of 

 this paper the new material has become so abundant that plans have 

 been made for Dr. Fewkes to resume his study of West Indian arche- 

 ology. The most noteworthy collection of aboriginal objects from 

 this area made in recent years is that of George G. Heye, Esq., of 

 New York, who courteously has placed his material at the disposal 

 of the bureau as an aid to these investigations. This collection has 

 been studied by Dr. Fewkes and the most important objects con- 

 tained therein are now being drawn for illustrative purposes. 



Dr. Fewkes's researches thus far indicate that the so-called Tainan 

 culture of Porto Rico and San Domingo was represented in the 

 Lesser Antilles by an agricultural people, probably Arawak, who 

 were conquered and absorbed by the marauding Carib. Study of the 

 collections above noted tend to show that several of the Lesser 

 Antilles were marked by characteristic types of pottery, indicating 

 their occupancy b}^ a people superior in culture to the Carib and to 

 those found there at the time of the discovery by Columbus. New 

 light has been shed on the relations of these early Antillean people 

 and the Orinoco tribes, which, although generally called Carib, were 

 probably an antecedent people of higher culture. 



Mr. James Mooney, ethnologist, spent the first three months of the 

 fiscal year in continuing investigations among the East Cherokee of 

 western North Carolina, and in locating and investigating mixed- 

 blood remnant bands in the eastern part of that State. The Cherokee 

 work consisted chiefly of a continuation and extension of the studv of 

 the aboriginal sacred formulas of the priests and doctors of the tribe, 

 with the accompanying ceremonies and prescriptions. Although the 

 former dances and tribal gatherings have fallen into disuse, the 

 family rites and medical ceremonies still hold sway among the full 

 bloods. 



