50 
ETHNOLOGY: J. W. FEWKES 
aboriginal occupation occur in their immediate vicinity, and there ap- 
pears no good reason to question the theory that their local name, 
Indian excavations, correctly ascribes them to Indians. 
Mounds or middens of considerable size, indicating aboriginal settle- 
ment, occur at many points on Barbados, especially the lee shore. The 
majority are situated on the plains skirting the coast, but many are 
found inland, especially where the soil invites the agriculturaHst. Among 
these may be mentioned: (1) Near St. Luke's Chapel; (2) Indian River; 
(3) Freshwater Bay; (4) Codeington Estate Springs; (5) Maxwells; 
(6) New South Point Lighthouse; (7) Three Houses; (8) Marl Hill; 
(9) Speightown; (10) Holetown, and many other places. On account 
of long cultivation of the fields the size and appearance of many aborigi- 
nal sites have been more or less obscured, although their former existence 
can still be discovered. 
A few undescribed specimens of aboriginal pottery found in these 
places are valuable in determining the culture of those who inhabited 
these locahties. One of the most perfect of these having a graceful 
form like the well known Arawak ''monkey vase," was found by Mr. 
Taylor at Indiantown near Bridgetown. This object can hardly be 
distinguished from Arawak pottery found in Grenada and St. Kitts. 
Another large flat fragment of pottery, from the same locality has the 
form of a griddle, resembling those on which the Arawaks bake their 
cassava cakes. A clay idol resembling one found in Porto Rico is sug- 
gestive of similar forms of idolatry in the two islands. 
The general characters of aboriginal life in Barbados as revealed by 
these and many other archaeological remains, show that the culture 
was somewhat different from that of Porto Rico, the neighboring Lesser 
Antilles, or the coast of South America, but that the prehistoric people 
belonged to the same Carib-Arawak stock that inhabited these localities 
in prehistoric times. The number and variety of the artifacts show that 
the prehistoric population of Barbados was large and implies that it 
had diminished to such an extent that when England began to colonize 
the island, only a few survivors remained. These prehistoric inhabi- 
tants of the Barbados were practically cave dwellers and although they 
had not reached the stage of culture characteristic of Porto Rico and 
Hayti, they were probably the only Antilleans who made artificial 
caverns for habitations or other purposes, and carried the manufacture 
of shell implements to the highest degree of perfection. Their culture 
was not the most advanced among the Antilleans, but it was charac- 
teristic, showing in a marked manner the influence of their geographical 
environment. Although there are minor differences in artifacts, iiidi- 
