CHAP. XIV. STARS IN STONE. 269 



made from basaltic rock and gabbro. Objects of this class were 

 also cast in metal, but these are now rarely met with in Ecuador/ 



Whilst they possess the general points of similarity that have 

 been mentioned, scarcely any two are identical in form. Some are 

 fiat and thin, others are thick, or rise in the centre upon each 



STARS IN STONE. 



side into a shape like the hub of a wheel. The number of these 

 objects that I collected was as much a matter of surprise to 

 Ecuadorians as it was to myself. Though many persons were 



1 It is not unlikely that many examples in metal have perished in the melting- 

 pot (like the axes and other implements and weapons), through the Ecuadorian 

 mania for gold. 



