The Distribution of an Arawak Pendant 



By Charles W. Mead 



N the shell-heaps and caves of the West India islands have 

 been found such cylindrical stone pendants as are shown in 

 plate I, nos. I, 2, 3, and 5. The archeological collections 

 from the islands of Jamaica and Porto Rico, in the Amer- 

 ican Museum of Natural History, contain a number of 

 these objects. Although they are always spoken of as cylinders, all 

 that I have seen are a trifle larger in the middle, tapering to the ends. 

 In those from Jamaica (nos. 1, 2, 3) the perforation for the sus- 

 pending cord is bored through a short distance from one of the ends. 

 The peculiarity of this hole is that the boring is done entirely from 

 one side, while the other stone objects in the collections were drilled 

 in the usual primitive way — from both sides. This is probably ac- 

 counted for by the fact that the smooth, rounded surface of the 

 cylinder made it very difficult to start the hole, as the point of the 

 drill would have a tendency to slip off until a beginning had been 

 made. It was found easier to continue drilling from one side than to 

 make another beginning on the opposite side. I shall speak of this 

 drilling again. 



The pendant numbered 5, from Porto Rico, is perforated in the 

 usual way of primitive peoples: a boring in one end is met by one 

 from the side. The lower end shows that the first attempt was un- 

 successful: that in trying to meet the hole in the end by drilling one 

 in the side a piece was broken off. 



According to the best information we have, the original inhabi- 

 tants of both Jamaica and Porto Rico were of Arawak stock, and the 

 artifacts we are considering are believed to belong to that period. It 

 must be remembered, however, that the pure-blood Arawaks of both 

 islands were exterminated in early times, and their place taken by a 

 mixed race of Arawaks and Caribs. 



Dr Fewkes says: "While the art products of the Antilleans are 

 sni generis, they are more characteristic of the Arawaks than of the 

 Carib people of South America." 1 



Dr Fewkes applies the term Taino to designate the original seden- 

 tary people of the West Indies, as distinguished from the Carib or 

 any mixture of the two. He says: "It should be borne in mind that 



1 American Anthropologist, N. s., vol. 5, no. 4. 



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