340 Memoirs Bcniicc P. Bishop Miisciiiii 



rather abruptly, and the ends are ahnost vertical. The top bears a longitudinal 

 groove instead of the usual transverse one. In No. 2 the head is smoothly round- 

 ed, with a short transverse groove. 



Tiki Headed Pounders 



Tiki headed popoi pounders represent the highest development of ]\Iar- 

 quesan stone working, the only objects which approach them in excellence being 

 certain of the small stone figures. The expedition was fortunate enough to ob- 

 tain five perfect specimens and the carved head of a sixth, while ten others were 

 studied in private collections or from photograi)hs. In all of these pounders the 

 carving followed one or the other of two well-marked conventions and the series 

 appears large enough to make possible a fairly accurate study of the type. In spite 

 of their fine workmanship and present rarit}^ tiki headed pounders were, and in 

 some cases still are, used as ordinary household utensils. All informants agree 

 that the carvings are purely decorative and have no religious significance. 



In general form the tiki headed ])ounders agree perfectly with the angular 

 headed type of phallic pounder already described, and it seems certain that they 

 have been developed from these implements. According to informants the carv- 

 ing was done with sharks' teeth or rats' teeth, but the form of the carving tools 

 and the method of employment have been forgotten. In the actual specimens the 

 grooves of the carving are semicircular in cross section and exhibit a high polish. 



The decoration consists of two heads, formed b_\- carving a face npon each of the lobes 

 of a phallic pounder of normal angular type. In carving these faces two distinct conventions 

 were employed, one of which appears to have been rare, being shown by only three of the 

 sixteen specimens. In the normal convention the features are carved in low relief and the de- 

 corated top is set off from the neck of the pounder by a well marked groove. Each of the 

 faces covers the entire surface of a lobe, its center line being in the middle of the outer end. 

 The mouths are broad, in the form of long narrow ovals with rounded ends. The 

 tongue is shown as a narrow longitudinal ridge, and the lips are broad, with 

 a flat or slightly concave surface. In one specimen there is a narrow band between the 

 lips and the tongue which may represent the teeth. Immediately behind each corner of the 

 mouth a small decoration in the form of a "N " is sometimes carved. The nose is broad and 

 flat, with almost semicircular nostrils. The e\es are carved on the u]3per corners of the lobe 

 and are directed toward the side rather than forward, and the space between them is dispropor- 

 tionately wide. The eyes are of the usual spectacle form — a raised ring encircling a convex cen- 

 ter — and are connected to the base of the nose at the inner end and to the ear at the outer end 

 by narrow raised bands. As a rule the eyes are horizontal, but some specimens show a slight 

 upward or downward inclination. The ears are represented as double scrolls, and are so 

 placetl that their outer edges fall along the line of the inner edge of each lobe. There 

 is a well marked groove above either eye. The top of the head may be either rounded or 

 pointetl, while in one specimen broad flat grooves have been carved along either side above the 

 eye groove, giving the head a sharp central keel. The space on the side of the pounder below 

 the ears and between the corners of the mouths of the two faces is filled with either one or 

 two small block figures bearing incised designs. In one specimen ( not shown ) a small block 

 figure of this sort is placed in the middle of the forehead of either face. 



[80] 



