This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project to make the world’s books discoverable online. It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that’s often difficult to discover. Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book’s long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you. Usage guidelines Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. We also ask that you: + Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes. + Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google’s system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. + Maintain attribution The Google “watermark” you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. + Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can’t offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book’s appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. About Google Book Search Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world’s books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http://books.google.com/ —— ee “= ** hPa A =e “~< 1-6 em _-— ee ‘a — _—- ~ »* enunh ee — ~~ == ee) = -_—s -_—-« ta ~* + “—_+2 &e as” — =e we ye = =e -. = -- Ja ee ~“* ‘fees +. ‘m= one an ~- #4» apetawnu «= - on - tae AAP © 6 ame Cy) - ~ = or x AO +“ 4" x) a +* oe - seslaaee a a -< “——- == on onde, ae = ~~ ae + oe a ALT ee ee = - -+* -- ‘mee 7. ~saae ~_- a» © = “Gen © _* > 6 -* etn a) “an << -- ~~ ~s ewe ti @ -_-* ~_< =~ ove =* 2 ~ ~~ i” _— - ~“-««* = -_- canmeys ~s* -- aon _* + = LAT. ~* _<- Cress x) -> » + ae —«—-=* -~- _ ewww ape or A) ~= “_<" ~—*. cor: — ~e- -*- ~—A ~ _* ea ) ~~ ry: a --— * +“ -< ** * x _-- a ee —-=—* “. = “#4 ~= — *.- -* LL —~ +46 4 ee @ - a aT “+7 Ory -_—<—* & = “- on= ~~ _-* =»! -= ft. + -_— o-* -_-s— —_ - _--—* “ ~— “> ah = —eanenn em A “+--+ * on . -~* smeene “—#* = SEILER Sh -—* sae" yy ay" <« x) —-* Ae = Ae” i. > = a+ « ~«ee _ ae -. LAA Y = a+. x “* “=. “=e ~«< -_~ | OS atts te ~- ~ iio ——" = -_- ss ~ > ** = ~~ — a .- =) = Um Pak Cre >< “_—- Asana ae = «4 —_- = -= xX _ ae = > ~~ ey ~_<-<« « odhaeuwe ix sf aegis ear a*- on ~- -- ~s ene > Seng oc eee & +7 th a. +t aew nme Cee) _- ~*~ a ke -< eS — “—« aa a +o & “<= - on = ae -* _—~ or = _—--- “—- _—_—--= ~— So + = ae -_ “- eee em a= ee -~_- eee ** oe —_—* v-* -_--s > A --* << ~~ es Pea-*- ethane —— = oe te me -~* ) “ah aw _- ase ox ~o- de == -« _- -« = A Fe "en = = pla Nada ORT le” 86 ann 7 24, 5, -<« = ~——-—= ox =n rR — —* x 4 , a - Sedan edtn aad a ~« -- on ~-=* -“ +* ~ + *- aww &. _- ~—s x a =<" ~~ __-——+ oe ii Poe ~~ _— — -—-—-—euwe —_- ~~ ———— * ~~ a = e+”. a "Hae Bebe == “va = 2 “< 4° -* _—* nate pp 2a ~-. = « _-- -- ines ee ee —- ~. _* on - -=- © 1 er -_ wae = =. ~-s sr ox ws ahs t ta ae wn nn i i- —— —- ~<— << _- = “*- ee «04. 4#~>- -_—a*% -<«+ ~=~_— 44 as _- = tn SP 2 * ox) a oe = +/+ = wea I ‘ce am ts += -_- Pt ~~ =e = a. +r. ~- ~~. +. x) = “ae whe “eae seen em _— te _- Ley LF «n+ & An -* ~—A* ~—< -- 2 Cr! == = ~ = _- = CRT PERE - os A+ ==ae « tae sea, “s~* a oe aw’ HARVARD UNIVERSITY erin hs] LIBRARY OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY GIFT OF Dr. Charles Peabody Received Sept. 27, 1924 a oiatizea ty GOORTe INDIAN NOTES AND MONOGRAPHS ane AME; 44 F/Ogs se sy 4 was Vl ¥ 2 at A SERIES OF PUBLICA- TIONS RELATING TO THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES VOL. I, No. 1 NEW YORK MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION 1919 1o3te sf. Bom a Roe Seat 27,1F2Y, ARCHEOLOGY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS BY THEODOOR pe BOOY * CONTENTS . PAGE Foreword ........... ccc cece ceecceancue 7 Introduction ............... cece eee eee 13 Early Inhabitants.....................0.. 15 |. Primitive Culture—Inter-insula: Communi- 19 cation... 6. eee eee 24 Magen’s Bay Village-site, St Thomas....... 42 Aboriginal Deposits on St Croix ........... 42 Petroglyphs of St John and of Congo Cay... 47 The Artifacts...... 00... ccc ccc ccc eee eee 60 Earthenware ...........- 0. cece cc eeeeee 60 Burial Vessels................. 000 e0e 60 Other Pottery Receptacles............ 65 Handles. ... 2... 0... cele eee eee ee ees 84 Spindle-whorls ................00-00 008 87 Cassava Griddles...................05 88 Stone Objects............. cece eee eee 89 Objects of Bone.............eee eee eeee 95 Bibliographic Notes..............00ee0e0e 98 FOREWORD HEODOOR DE BOOY, the au- LO thor of this account of the (3 archeology of the Virgin Is- lands of the United States, died February 18, 1919, while the mem- oir was in preparation for publication. Mr de Booy, son of Vice-Admiral C. J. G. and Mary (Hobson) de Booy, was born in Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands, December 5, 1882, and was educated at the Royal Institute of Holland. In 1906 he came to the United States, becoming an American citizen ten years later; and in 1909 he married Miss Elizabeth Hamilton Smith, of Louisville, Kentucky. In company with his wife, Mr de Booy went to the] Bahama islands in 1911, and during his residence there became interested in the antiquities of the Caicos group of islands, devoting much time to the exploration of their numerous caves and mounds. On VIRGIN ISLANDS his return to the United States, he pub- lished, in 1912, the first results of his ar- cheological researches, in a paper entitled ““Lucayan Remains on the Caicos Islands.” He then determined to devote his life to archeology, and the opportunity soon pre- sented itself when he became attached to the Heye Museum, now the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, of New York City. Mr de Booy joined the staff as field explorer for West Indian work, and sailed for the Bahamas in June, 1912, remaining there for six months. He was notably successful on this trip, among the most important objects recovered being a remarkable paddle which he discovered in a cave on Mores island. Mr de Booy’s next expedition was to Jamaica, where he spent the months of January, February, and March of 1913, on this trip conducting excavations in some of the kitchen-middens found on various parts of the island. Dur- ing July to October of the same year he devoted his attention to Santo Domingo, there undertaking the first systematic ex- ploration ever made in this important and INDIAN NOTES FOREWORD little-known field, a work which was con- tinued in the spring of 1914. On his return to the United States he prepared a report on the results of the two expeditions, which were devoted chiefly to the exploration of certain caves in Santo Domingo and to work on the small island of Saona. In October and November of the same year he made an archeological reconnoissance of ‘‘leastern Cuba, and was the first to discover the great riches of that hitherto neglected field. The year of 1915 was a busy one with Mr de Booy. The months of February to April were spent by him in exploration and excavations on the island of Margarita, Venezuela, and from May to September he was occupied in excavating in the south- eastern part of Trinidad. In 1916 he made a third trip to Santo Domingo, and in the same year visited Porto Rico and Marti- nique. On all of these islands he conducted archeological researches. Owing to the acquisition of the Danish West Indies by the United States, Mr de Booy was sent by the Museum to the islands comprising this group, where he re- AND MONOGRAPHS 10 ‘VIRGIN ISLANDS mained frem October, 1916, until February, 1917. This was the first archeological work ever done there, and he was notably suc- cessful in obtaining material and informa- tion respecting the antiquities of this region. With this expedition his field-work for the Museum came to an end. Early in 1918 he severed his connection with it, and com- menced preparations for an exploration of the unknown region of the Perij4 mountains in eastern Venezuela, and an investigation of the ethnology of the Motilone Indians, the savage remnant of a tribe which has always kept its country free from white settlement and exploration. This journey was made under the auspices of the Amer- ican Geographical Society and the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, of which latter institution he became a field worker for a short period. After his return from this trip Mr de Booy joined the force of the State Deparment Inquiry as one of its South American experts, and was still en- gaged in this work at the time of his death. Mr de Booy was an able, thorough, and industrious student of his chosen field of INDIAN NOTES FOREWORD 11 endeavor, and a man of attractive per- sonality. The reports of his investiga- _|tions in the West Indies, of which the present memoir is the seventh to be pub- lished by this Museum, are distinct con- tributions to our knowledge of the arche- ology of those regions. In addition he published in scientific journals numerous papers on the geography and archeology of the fields which he explored. GrorGE G. HEYE, Director. AND MONOGRAPHS 13 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS Bv THEODOOR DE Booy INTRODUCTION HE writer was sent by the Mu- seum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, to the Vir- gin Islandsof the United States for the purpose of making an extended archeological survey of St Thomas, St John, and St Croix, the three principal islands of the group. The visit to the islands extended from October, 1916, to February, 1917, during which time they were still known as the Danish West In- dies, as their actual transfer to the United States was not made until March, 1917. Up to that date practically no pre-Co- lumbian artifacts were known from St Thomas or St John, excepting a small number of stone celts and chisels; and 14, VIRGIN ISLANDS while St Croix had produced a quantity of objects representing the material cul- ture of the aborigines, these were almost entirely in the hands of private collectors and had not been described. After a preliminary survey of St Thomas, it was the good fortune of the writer to discover, on the Magen’s Bay property of Dr P. Mortensen, King’s physician of the island, evidence of the existence of a pre-Columbian village-site. Thanks are due to Dr Mortensen for his generous permission to conduct excava- tions on his land for the benefit of the Museum. With praiseworthy interest in the scientific institutions of Denmark, his native country, Dr: Mortensen pre- scribed only one condition to the privi- leges granted, namely, that such dupli- cate material as might be found be given him for the National Museum at Copen- hagen. The writer is likewise indebted to Mr H. MacKay, a planter of the island of St Croix, for permission to excavate on his Salt River property. To Mr MacKay may be attributed much of the INDIAN NOTES OE Le es ie a gi > as re 3" Se ed Fo. YS if Jew AS -- x Say zp ey aa) $ & cy ied 2 § nt 4 3 O32 & SF aa Za Seg Eo" SH im an = » ee C) aq ae ce ag t5 oa zo S> Ay Qe -3 iat w J Ka , FO ro ry £ Es 2 A Pr \2 i EARLY INHABITANTS 15 success of the undertaking on St Croix which résulted in gathering numerous artifacts illustrating its archeology. In addition to these two gentlemen, the Museum and the writer express their grateful appreciation of the aid shown them. in their work by the Danish offi- cials, who manifested active interest in the excavations and were helpful in every possible way. EARLY INHABITANTS In order to make this account as com- prehensive as possible, it is deemed ad- visable first to discuss what little is known of the Indians inhabiting the Vir- gin Island group when the West Indies were discovered by Spanish explorers. The literature of the subject is scant, and of this a great deal cannot be taken seriously so far as archeological and eth- nological data are concerned. It must be noted that the island of St Croix is not a part of the Virgin Island group proper, being separated by a passage forty miles wide. AND MONOGRAPHS 16 VIRGIN ISLANDS During his second voyage of discovery in 1493, Columbus reached St Croix after touching at a number of the Windward islands to the southward. After St Croix, the Admiral discovered the group of islands to the northward, naming them the Virgins, in honor of St Ursula and the ElevenThousand Virgins of the Catholic calendar. According to the Rev. John P. Knox, whose work on the history of St Thomas possesses perhaps the great- est merit of the few historical accounts of this region, Columbus, on the report of the captain of a small caravel whom he had sent to explore the group, thought the islands to be uninhabited.! It must be noted that Knox had no ground for making the statement that the islands were uninhabited, as the early historian from whom this author probably ob- tained his reference? merely informs the reader that, on arriving at the group, the larger ships kept at high sea, owing to the danger from unknown shoals and rocks, while a few of the smaller vessels cruised amongst the islands and recon- INDIAN NOTES EARLY INHABITANTS 17 noitered forty-six of them. It was in con- sequence of these dangers that Columbus thought it best to leave the islands and -| proceed to Porto Rico, whose mountains he could see from his anchorage. The German historian Oldendorp men- tions that the Indians were driven away from the Virgin Islands during the reign of Carlos V of Spain, about the year 1550, the Emperor having ordered them to be treated as enemies and exterminated. $ We cannot discover from what source Oldendorp derived this information, and are inclined to believe that he was writ- ing of St Croix, not of the true Virgin Island group. It is much more likely that such inhabitants as may have dwelt on the Virgin Islands after the discovery were taken as slaves and made to work in the mines of Hispaniola after the labor supply of the latter island had become exhausted. The early records unanimously agree that St Croix, called Agay by the abor- igines, was occupied by warlike tribes when it was discovered, and they com- AND MONOGRAPHS 1. N. M.,I—1. 18 “VIRGIN ISLANDS ment on the ferocity and savagery of these people. These were the tribes which attempted to repel, by force of arms, the soldiers sent ashore by Colum- bus to explore the island.4 It has fre- quently been stated that this encounter with the Indians caused the first act of bloodshed in the New World between the conqutstadores and the aborigines. This, however, is not true, as an encounter had already taken place during the first voy- age of Columbus, in 1492, when he dis- covered Samana bay of the island of His- paniola; indeed this bay was named the Bay of Arrows by the Admiral in com- memoration of the encounter.® It will therefore be seen that St Croix cannot lay claim to the doubtful honor of having been the scene of the first battle in the New World. During the fight b tween the natives of St Croix and the Spaniards, a Galician was slain by an Indian woman, and another soldier seriously wounded: Peter Martyr relates that the wounds were caused by the poisoned arrows used by the natives, and states that the poi- INDIAN NOTES EARLY INHABITANTS 19 son oozed from the arrows when the points broke off. It is also of interest to note that the same historian relates that the St Croix Indians, who made the attack, appeared to be governed by the same woman who inflicted the wounds on the slain Spaniard and his companion. There are no trustworthy records of ‘!the ultimate fate of the aboriginal in- habitants of St Thomas, St Croix, and St John, for even if Oldendorp’s state- ment referred to is founded on fact, it does not necessarily imply that the ex- termination of the Indians was completely effected. Nevertheless, when the Dan- ish, Dutch, and French settlers arrived on the islands at different periods of the]: seventeenth century, no Indians were found to inhabit them, and the fate of the aborigines from that time onward is completely veiled. PRIMITIVE CULTURE — INTER-INSULAR COMMUNICATION As has been stated, the first investi- gations were carried on at Magen’s bay, AND MONOGRAPHS 20 VIRGIN ISLANDS St Thomas. After these, the writer made a survey of the island of St John, and finally of St Croix. Beyond the petro- glyphs at Reef bay on St John which were studied and photographed, there was no evidence of prolonged Indian oc- cupancy of this island. , A few potsherds were found on what is called ‘‘Old Oven”’ hill on the northern coast of St John, be-|* tween Leinster bay and Smith bay, which led to the belief that this eminence had at one time been occupied by the abor- igines, but in any event the occupancy must have been brief. However, the sherds found were so small that they were of little use for comparative study. The St Croix site, on the other hand, produced a large number of excellent artifacts, and, as at Magen’s bay on St Thomas, extensive excavations were con- ducted there. The writer cannot agree with the state- ment made by Dr J. Walter Fewkes that “Santa Cruz [St Croix] and St Thomas have cultural resemblances in their an- tiquities to the Porto Rican or Jamaican INDIAN NOTES INTERCOMMUNICATION 21 area.”"® The specimens from St Croix re- semble those from St Thomas so closely that one may assert that the aborigines of the two islands were of the same origin and culture. While an accasional arti- fact has been found on St Thomas and on St Croix that undoubtedly belongs to the Porto Rican area, the presence of a specimen of this kind, where islands are in such close proximity that their moun- tains loom on the horizon as landmarks for canoe travelers, could mean hardly more than that the Indians of the two islands either had intercourse with those of Porto Rico or that they waged war against the Porto Ricans and possibly carried off articles of Tainan manufac- ture as their spoils. Cultural resem- blances, in order to be complete, must be found in pottery as well as in artifacts of stone, and no pottery object was found on either St Thomas or on St John that in any degree resembles ceramic speci- mens from either Porto Rico or Jamaica. While the writer personally recovered perhaps ten stone and bone objects that AND MONOGRAPHS 22 VIRGIN ISLANDS had their origin in Porta Rico, if not even in Santo Domingo or Jamaica, he found also one potsherd on St Croix that could have come only from Trinidad, it having the painted red-and-white decor- ation so typical of the earthenware of that southern island. The writer is strongly of the opinion that St Croix and St Thomas were inhab- ited by tribes that made extended voy- ages, either for trading or for warfare, practically throughout the West Indies. The finding of some of the so-called ‘‘col- lar-stones”’ proves that voyages to Porto Rico were commonly undertaken, and the presence of a grotesquely carved ‘‘swal- lowing-stick”’ of bone urges connection with Santo Domingo. That journeys to Jamaica were possibly undertaken is sug- gested by the finding, in a kitchen-midden on St Croix, of a cylindrical stone pen- dant, specimens of this kind being more} typical of Jamaican culture than of that of other Antillean islands. Then again, the potsherd above mentioned tends to prove that some communication had been INDIAN NOTES INTERCOMMUNICATION 23 held with either Trinidad or the northern coast of Venezuela. It is hardly likely that the tribes in- habiting St Thomas and St Croix made such voyages for purposes of barter or of peaceful intercourse; it is far more likely that these natives undertook extended journeys like these in order to wage war against the more peaceful Arawak tribes of the other Antillean islands, and that the specimens recovered by our expedi- tion were obtained by force of arms rather than through trade. Had the intercourse with the islands to the westward been of a peaceful nature, it is probable that the Indians would have adopted some of the technique of the potter’s art from their neighbors. As it is, the pottery from St Thomas and St Croix, of which thou- sands of specimens were recovered, bears ‘no resemblance to that from Jamaica, Porto Rico, Santo Domingo, and Cuba, in either form, technique, or design. Some slight resemblance may be sus- pected between the pottery of the islands and that of Trinidad; but this resem- AND MONOGRAPHS 24 VIRGIN ISLANDS blance is so remote that it is more a ques- tion of the individual opinion of the writer than of tangible proof. Knowing from early historians that St Croix was inhabited -by warlike tribes, ‘and finding that the pottery and other artifacts from St Thomas bear a direct resemblance to those from St Croix, it may reasonably be said that the inhab- itants of St Thomas were of the same warlike and ferocious tribes. MAGEN’S BAY VILLAGE-SITE, ST THOMAS Crossing the mountain ridge which bi- sects the island of St Thomas, one views the bay called Magen’s bay, or some- times North Side bay, which stretches rectangularly on the northern coast of the island. Bordered on the eastern side by Picara point, a rocky peninsula that extends its enormous arm in a north- westerly direction, and on the western side by another, somewhat smaller, par- alleling peninsula of similar formation, the sloping, sandy, southern shore of the bay is sheltered from all but northerly INDIAN NOTES ST THOMAS SITE 25 and westerly storms (pl. 1). From the hills commanding the bay a perfect view may be had of both the northern and the southern coasts of the island, and of many of the cays and passages in the waters surrounding St Thomas. The Indian lookouts in ancient times could have given ample warning of the approach of any marauding tribes and thus enable the inhabitants to seek the shelter in the forests or to prepare themselves for at- tack. With a perfect sandy shore emi- nently suitable for beaching canoes, with soil sufficient for the cultivation of cas- sava and other indigenous vegetables, with a sea teeming with fish and. shell- food, and with an ample supply of fresh water, the existence of the aborigines of St Thomas could have been little less than ideal. That the Indians selected Mag- en’s bay for their village-site, in prefer- ence to even more sheltered bays on the southern coast, was due probably to the fact that their principal diet consisted of sea-food and that this was more easily obtained on the northern coast. Fur- AND MONOGRAPHS 26 VIRGIN ISLANDS thermore, it was probably easier to. pro- cure fresh water on the northern coast of the island, considering the primitive appliances the Indians had at their dis- posal for making wells. There are today various paths leading from the shores of Magen’s bay to the hills above. The largest of these paths, called the King’s Road by the inhabitants of St Thomas, leads. from the shores of the bay along its bordering hills to the eastward, toward a property now called Canaan. It was on this road, at a point not more than a hundred meters from the sandy shore of the bay, that the writer was so fortunate as to discover a small mound of aboriginal origin. During the first reconnoissance of the valley lying be- tween the ridges that terminate in the two peninsulas forming the bay, a num- ber of small potsherds were found on the surface. This led to a search of the neighborhood for mounds and other evi- dences of Indian occupancy. It should here be said that the valley between the two ridges is covered with small pools of INDIAN NOTES ST THOMAS SITE 27 fresh water during the rainy season; it is therefore likely that the Indians came to these pools for their water supply and that the sherds on the surface of the little valley were parts of such vessels as were broken while being carried to the pools. : Careful search throughout the valley, which is covered with bush and under- growth, was finally rewarded by the dis- covery of the mound above mentioned, the crest of which was not more than ten feet high and which merged into the slope of the hill against which it lay. The mound was found to be semilunar in shape, with a maximum breadth of about 75 feet and a width of about 30 feet. Its western slope was more or less bordered by the King’s road, whereas the eastern slope, as before mentioned, was circum- scribed by the contour of the hill. Exam- ination of this hill showed that its sum- mit had also been occupied by Indians, probably as a signal station. A number |. of small potsherds were found upon the flat crest of the height, but as it is rocky AND MONOGRAPHS 28 VIRGIN ISLANDS ; and without covering of deep soil, it was considered unprofitable to conduct ex- cavations at this point. The vegetation covering the mound was somewhat dense and consisted prin- = WEF: y Ped oy call: \aeeee Ce Ay! Bh 4; an = a ioe yk ict ee mh i Fic. 1.—Destructive roots in the aboriginal mound. cipally of genip trees (Melococca bijuga) of varying size, whose penetrating roots had caused more breakage of the arti- facts under the surface than the weight of the soil above, and, incidentally, the INDIAN NOTES DE BOOY — VIRGIN ISLANDS PL. as Vf “was “A it 5) ox At Pe a 4 le es Yt yi Pane ed oi Ih ‘ Awe t'Ge} =_ >» oe ‘/ eee } } aea'¢ ¥.} I \i} * wm sof" > =f, a —— " wes vw iF, ~ 2 ~ 5 ete . i Xin, _# SECTION OF THE ABORIGINAL MOUND Digit y Google ST THOMAS SITE 29 roots made the excavation of the diluvial covering a difficult task (fig. 1). Directly beneath the diluvial deposit of the mound was found a layer of black earth, plentifully mixed with ashes, char- coal, and shells, and it was in this dark layer (pl. 11) that most of the artifacts were encountered. Directly under this black stratum was found another, though not quite so dark, in which the same kind of débris was found as in the layer di- rectly above it. The mound appeared to represent two different periods of abor- iginal occupancy, although the objects found in the third layer did not differ materially in their types from those found in the second layer. But it may well be that after the formation of the lower, or third, layer, the village-site was aban- doned for a number of years, but not for such a length of time that the earth of the deposit partook of the lighter, brown, color of the diluvial deposit, yet still long enough to have become a trifle less dark than the later deposit on top. As the illustration shows, the original AND MONOGRAPHS 30 VIRGIN ISLANDS sea-sand is found directly under the third layer. By digging two feet in this lower- most deposit, one reaches water, hence excavations were not conducted for more than a foot below the third layer. The depth of the strata varied, of course, with the depth of the mound. At the highest part of the mound the first layer had a depth of two feet, the second a depth of _| three and a half feet, the third a depth of four feet. No artifacts were found in the diluvial covering, therefore we may concern ourselves solely with layers 2, 3, and 4, the last being the sea-sand, a foot to eighteen inches in depth, in which ex- cavations were made. As the aboriginal objects in the lower layers were not differ- ent, and as the conditions under which they were found were the same through- out, the two layers (2 and 3) may be treated as a single deposit. The illus- tration (pl. 1) affords the means of de- termining the depth of the combined lay- ers at about the highest part of the mound. The layer under the diluvium repre- INDIAN NOTES ST THOMAS SITE 31 sents a typical West Indian kitchen-mid- den, or rubbish-heap, of the same kind as the one in Jamaica described by the writer in a former paper,’ excepting that no extensive shell layers were found. ym, — A a. ro) > va fh 3 a ie bo N =-e a ‘) “F ad we ay “ait oS. Fic. 2.—Excavation in the aboriginal mound. Where in the Jamaica middens one finds first a layer of diluvium, next a stratum of shells, then one of ashes, and finally the original surface of limestone marl, at Magen’s bay is found first the layer of diluvium, then a layer in which ashes, AND MONOGRAPHS 1 32 VIRGIN ISLANDS shells, and artifacts are mixed together (representing in its entirety the two in- tervening layers found in Jamaica), and finally the original surface, in this in- stance consisting of sand instead of lime- stone marl. Virtually, however, there is no wide difference in the middens, and it.is found that, exceptin a minor way, the kitchen-middensof such other West Indian islands as Cuba, Trinidad, and Santo Do- mingo, as were investigated, did not vary in character from those of St Thomas. Close examination of the component ingredients of the second and third layers of the Magen’s Bay deposits revealed the existence of a somewhat indurated mass of loam and clay, plentifully mixed with ashes, charcoal, and other débris of the aboriginal household. It is regretted that none of the wooden artifacts were preservable in the humid soil, for there: can be no doubt that the aborigines used a large number of such, judging from the accounts of early historians and from the few cave specimens that have been recovered from time to time. INDIAN NOTES ST THOMAS SITE 33 A large variety of shells was found in the second and third layers. These have been identified as follows: ‘MARINE SHELLS Fasciolaria tulipa Strombus gigas Strombus accipiter Strombus pugtlis Turbo pica Tectarius muricatum Codakia orbicularis Cypraea exanthema Cardium serratum Cardium muricatum Pecten zigzag Pecten nodolus Arca occidentalis Donax denticulatus Modiola tulipa Tritonium tritonis Nerita peloronta Nerita tesselata Murex brevifrons Murex pomum Ostrea folium Mytilus hirundo Chama sp. LAND SHELLS Pleurodonte incerta Helix bornii It is impossible fo say which of these shells predominated in the Magen’s Bay kitchen-middens. From the fact that so many species were recovered, but that of no one of them was a large number en- countered, it would seem to have been the general practice of the Indians to open the shells in the vicinity of the place where they were gathered. This may ac- AND MONOGRAPHS I. N. M., I—2. 34 VIRGIN ISLANDS count for the fairly heavy shell-deposits at Krum bay, on the southern coast of St Thomas, and for the fact that in these shell-deposits practically no artifacts were found. . It should be noted that Helix bornti had not been known to occur on St Thomas, its nearest habitat being Porto Rico. The writer found four shells of this species in the Magen’s Bay middens, and as all of these were found together and all with perforated lips, it is probable that they were gathered in Porto Rico by some | adventurous Indian, who strung and car- ried them home. MAMMALS The writer is indebted to Dr Gerrit S. Miller, Jr.,8 curator of the Division of Mammals of the United States National Museum, for the identification of the bones of mammals and reptiles found in the Magen’s Bay deposits. These were found to represent the following: Isolobodon portoricensis Allen. Of this small mammal, now extinct in the Virgin Islands and Porto Rico, and not known to be living else- — INDIAN NOTES ST THOMAS SITE 35 where, 92 bones were collected on St Thomas, probably representing about 30 individuals. Dasyprocta aguti (Linnaeus). Trichechus manatus Linnaeus. REPTILES Cyclura mattea, new species. Three bones of a probably extinct species of large lizard (iguana) were found. Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus). About forty frag- ments of shells and limbs of turtles were found. All the more complete bones appear to be those of the green turtle. BIRDS Mr Alexander Wetmore, ® of the United States Biological Survey, identified the bird-bones found in the kitchen-middens of Magen’s bay, finding them to belong to the following: Puffinus lherminieri Lesson. Shearwater. AEstrelata sp. Petrel. Sula leucogastra (Boddaert). Booby. Fregata magnificens Matthews. Man-o’-war Bird. Nyctanassa violacea (Linnaeus). Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Gallus gallus (Linnaeus). It is a source of con- siderable mystification how to account for the presence of these remains of a domestic fowl AND MONOGRAPHS 36 VIRGIN ISLANDS in what undoubtedly is a pre-Columbian de- posit. The only logical explanation is that a rat may have carried the remains of a fowl in its burrow in later days. Nestrochis debooyi, new genus and species (Fam- ily Rallidae). Limb bones of several individ- uals of an extinct rail were found. Anoiis stolidus (Linnaeus). (?). Sternasp. Possibly of Sterna anaetheta (Scopoli). FISH Mr Barton A. Bean, of the United States National Museum, identified the fish-bones in the St Thomas middens as being of the following: Sphyraena, Barracuda. Caranx, Crevallé. Epinephelus, Grouper. Scarus, Parrot Fish. Diodon, Porcupine Fish. Tylosurus, Silver Gar. Balistes, Trigger Fish. Lutjanus, Snapper. It will be noted that the food of the aborigines of St Thomas was of consid- erable variety. What with numerous kinds of fish, green turtle, the Isolobodon, all sorts of shell-fish, birds, and the flesh of the iguana, the Indians were well sup- plied with animal food. Their vege- tal food probably comprised the num- INDIAN NOTES ST THOMAS SITE 37 erous indigenous fruits and the all-impor- tant cassava, which is such a constant ad- junct to Indian life in the islands. Num- erous fragments of cassava griddles, of the type common to the West Indies, were found in the kitchen-middens of Magen’s bay. There was no evidence on St Thomas that the island had been densely popu- lated; indeed, only two pre-Columbian sites were found on the island: the site at Magen’s bay, and a very small one on the southern coast, on the shore of Krum bay, where somewhat extensive shell- deposits and an occasional sherd indicate that the place was at least visited by Indians. Of course, objects such as celts, chisels, axes, pestles, and mortars are found throughout the island, but discov- eries of this kind do not indicate perma- nent occupancy of a particular locality. There is no way to determine the age of the Magen’s Bay deposits. As will be shown, they were covered with two feet of diluvium, but no deductions as to the age of the kitchen-middens can be drawn AND MONOGRAPHS 38 VIRGIN ISLANDS from this. The depth of the diluvial de- posits has been found to be governed en- tirely by such conditions as the nature of the soil, the density of the undergrowth, and the geological formation, hence one frequently finds a very old deposit cov- ered by only about six inches of di- luvium in a region where scant vegeta- tion exists, whereas a comparatively re- cent aboriginal deposit, in a region with a heavy rainfall and dense woods, some-|’ times is‘covered by four feet or more of diluvium. That the Magen’s ‘Bay village-site was abandoned before the coming of the Span- iards to the West Indies is suggested by the fact that no objects of European ori- gin were found. Had the tribe of which the remains were found existed on St Thomas during the period of the con- quest of the West Indies, particularly during the conquest of Porto Rico by Ponce de Leén, it is more than probable that some evidence of barter or of other contact with the Spaniards would have been found, such as beads, hawk-bells, INDIAN NOTES ST THOMAS SITE 39 etc. From the condition of the skeletal remains found under the kitchen-middens at Magen’s bay, the writer is of the opinion that the site was occupied sev- eral centuries before the Spanish invasion. Directly beneath the second and third layers of the deposits was found the sur- face of sand that existed before the In- dian occupancy of the site. It was in this sand that nine pre-Columbian burials were found—seven of adults and two of children. It is far from improbable that a much larger number of burials may be found in the vicinity of the kitchen- midden and that the remains buried in the kitchen-midden itself represented but a small number of the inhabitants of the village-site. With three exceptions the burials were accompanied with at least one pottery vessel. We quote the following from Dr Fewkes regarding burial customs in the Lesser Antilles: “‘As skeletons sometimes occur in these sites, reference to burial customs may be mentioned here. The ancient Antilleans buried their dead AND MONOGRAPHS 40 VIRGIN ISLANDS in a contracted (embryonic) posture, often in the floors of the houses. . . . It was customary to deposit mortuary offerings in the graves, which accounts for the pottery and other objects found by the author in the Balliceaux cemetery.’’ © Two burials were found by our expe- dition in the Magen’s Bay middens in which the bodies had been interred in a recumbent position, but the remains of the other seven burials had been placed in an embryonic posture, and after the dissolution of the flesh, the skeletons) were found to have become a confused mass. The mortuary vessels were found close to the skeletons, but in no prede- termined position. With five of the nine burials but one vessel was found; one burial was accompanied with three ves- sels, while three burials had no vessels whatsoever. It may be mentioned that no axes, amulets, or other artifacts save those of earthenware were found in the graves. Five of the burials were sur- rounded with conch-shells (Strombus gigas), which in each case seem to have been placed in a circle around the body. INDIAN NOTES DE BOOY — VIRGIN ISLANDS PL. it Wy Ne 3 \ Ko Aj e ee Fa Ps WN ~~ ® - oe ) . i A. Vas is ar ¢ ‘ Pgeedy | hu ej aby \ ‘ / at 4 ee eS NG) 4 SKULL IN SITU IN ABORIGINAL MOUND ST THOMAS SITE 41 It is worthy of mention that the burials appeared to be very old, and that the bones in consequence were so brittle and in such bad condition that their preser- vation was not possible. Two skulls, one of an adult and one of a child, were suffi- ciently hard to enable preservation, and of these the child’s skull was sent to the National Museum in Copenhagen. Two of the burials were found in the layer directly above the sand, and these appeared as if deposited at a date later than those found below the third layer. These two skeletons were in especially bad condition, owing to the moisture in the black earth and to the roots of the genip trees (pl.11). From the fact that the burials in the original sandy surface (the fourth layer) were covered and sur- rounded with more or less kitchen-midden débris, such as potsherds and ashes, and with black loam, etc., which evidently came from the upper layers, it is apparent that the burials were made after the oc- cupancy of the village-site and that graves were dug in the site itself and AND MONOGRAPHS 42 VIRGIN ISLANDS filled with the surrounding soil and ref- use. ABORIGINAL DEPOSITS ON ST CROIX The kitchen-middens at Salt river, on the island of St-Croix, did not differ _|materially from the one at Magen’s bay on St Thomas (pl.1v). Salt river in real- ity is more of a sea inlet than a river, and its water is salty and not potable. The mouth of the inlet is bordered by an ex- tensive reef, with two channels, making an ideal shelter for the canoes of the natives. Furthermore, the fishing on the confines of this reef is said to. be excel- lent, and there is no reason to believe that it may have been otherwise in aboriginal times. In addition, the man- grove trees with which the inlet is bor- dered are covered with the typical man- grove oysters (Ostrea virginica), and the waters north of Salt river abound in conchs (Strombus gigas). The village-site at Salt river was far more extensive than the Magen’s Bay site, and there is every evidence that St INDIAN NOTES AZO yeorydesz005 uBfiaury ay} jo AsazIn0D) x!lo¥od LS JO GNVIS! SAL se tou “LS” susouiesae ~ DETTE SAIS COORD SL | sows > 6 2 ot 000 02: T9Te9g Al “1d SGNVISI NIDUIA — AOOG 3G ST CROIX SITE 43 Croix supported a far larger pre-Colum- bian population than did the island of St Thomas. The deposits are found in a semicircle around a small hill on the western bank of Salt river, at the mouth of the inlet, as well as on its crest. Some practically effaced ruins on the hilltop, and the remains of a foundation for a flag-pole, indicate that in post-Colum- bian times the hill may have been used for a battery. The deposits are found as far as the edge of the sea and extend thence around the hill to the bank of Salt river. In many places the kitchen-middens are of inconsiderable depth. The excavations were made in a ridge about 24 ft. wide, 120 ft. long, and 5 ft. in height, with sloping sides, extending north and south from the edge of the sea. A cross-sec- tion of this ridge shows a diluvial de- posit from a foot to two and a half feet in thickness. Directly beneath this was a layer, two and a half feet thick, of the usual charcoal, ashes, potsherds, and stone objects, forming a compact mass AND MONOGRAPHS VIRGIN ISLANDS with the original soil. About ninety- five per cent of the shells found in the kitchen-midden consisted of the man- grove oyster (Ostrea virginica), while the remainder were mostly large conch-shells (Strombus gigas), together with the spe- cies enumerated below: SHELLS Triton tritonis. . Pleurodonte, new sp. Arca deshayesii. . Spondylus. Lucina tigerina. Cypraea exanthema Avicula obliqua. Murex brevifrons. Mytilus hamatus. Turbinella muricata | Chione cancellata. Fasciolaria tulipa. Anomalocardia brasili- Livona pica. ana. Cassis testiculus. Cassis flammea. Murex pomum. As in the case of the bones found on St Thomas, Dr Miller™ identified the mammal remains and those of the rep- tiles, finding them to be the following: MAMMALS Isolobodon portoricensis Allen. Fifty-six speci- mens were found, representing about fifteen individuals. Trichechus manatus (Linnaeus). Dr Miller re INDIAN NOTES ST CROIX SITE 45 ports that the atlas and axis of one seacow, and three fragments of ribs, probably not from the same individual as the vertebre, were in- cluded in the material from St Croix. REPTILES Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus). About two dozen fragments of the shells and limbs of sea turtles were found in the deposits. BIRDS The bird-bones from the Salt River de- posits were identified by Mr Wetmore!” and found to belong to the following: Pufinus sp. Shearwater. Sula piscator (Linnaeus). Redfooted Booby. Nyctanassa violacea (Linnaeus). Yellow-crowned Night-heron. Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus). Gallinule. Nesotrochis debooyi Wetmore, new genus and sp. (Family Rallidae). The remains of the rail found at Magen’s tay on St Thomas were en- countered in these deposits also. Corvus leucognaphalus Daudin. At the present time this crow is not found nearer than the forest regions of Mameyes in Porto Rico. Mr Barton A Bean identified the fish- bones as belonging to the following: AND MONOGRAPHS 46 VIRGIN ISLANDS Lutjanus, Snapper. Scarus, Parrot Fish. Sphyraena, Barracuda. Diodon, Porcupine Fish. Caranx, Crevallé. Ray. Epinephelus, Grouper. Numerous claws of the ordinary West Indian land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) were found in the deposits. — > a >» * wT s hte = Wem. + G 52 & pc ae 7 | Y wr ~—* a oe. ae Fic. 3.—Excavation in the aboriginal mound at Salt river, St Croix. Owing to the intensely hot sea-breezes to which the lands around the mouth of Salt river are exposed, the diluvial de- posit covering the kitchen-midden was I INDIAN NOTES DE BOOY — VIRGIN ISLANDS PL. Vv * a - ex. “a +: oe ey v= ~lw 2 oi _ ~ _ ~~ ae — —— _ ES — 4 Wl, Ye BURIAL VESSEL IN SITU PETROGLYPHS 47 extremely hard. The method followed in excavating was first to remove the ab- original deposit under the diluvium and to then break down the overhanging shelf of earth (fig. 3). By these means the artifacts in the lower layers were re- moved without breakage. The sloping contour of the ridge, mentioned above, may be seen in the illustration referred to. A number of burials were found in the kitchen-middens at Salt river. The same method of interring the dead was prac- tised as at the Magen’s Bay site. By reason of the richness of the soil and its dampness, there was no possibility of pre- serving the skeletal material. As at Magen’s bay, a number of burials were accompanied with pottery vessels, one of which is illustrated in pl. v. PETROGLYPHS OF ST JOHN AND OF CONGO CAY On the southern coast of the island of St John is an inlet named Reef bay on modern charts. This inlét may be seen also on older charts under the names Kip AND MONOGRAPHS 48 VIRGIN ISLANDS bay and Rif bay, but the appellation in common use is Reef bay, and it probably originated from the fact that this body of water is bordered by a coral reef. In former days the Reef Bay estate seems to have been of considerable importance as a sugar factory, but with the abolition of slavery and the decline in price of sugar, the estate suffered a serious de- cline, as did numerous other sugar plan- tations on the island. The writer is indebted to Mrs L. Marsh, present owner of the Reef Bay estate, and to her son, Mr E. Marsh, for permission to make photographs of the property, and special thanks are due Mr Marsh for his courtesy in acting as guide to the writer during his visit to the estate. Following the road between Lamesure, another bay on the southern coast of St John, situated more easterly than Reef bay, one views from a considerable dis- tancethe waterfalls under which the rock- carvings are found. The falls lie between the ridges of two hills, and in reality con- sist of two cataracts, the upper one al- INDIAN NOTES PETROGLYPHS 49 most 60 ft. high, and the lower, under which the carvings are found, 45 ft. in height. As the crow flies the falls are not more than a mile and a quarter from the sea. In order to visit the site, it is necessary to follow the dry bed of a stream and then to cut one’s way through a somewhat dense thicket. Before the hurricane of October 9, 1916, a foot-path followed the watercourse, hence the ascent to the falls was far easier than it is today. The lower fall is not of considerable volume in ordinary times, but during heavy rains the quantity of water that passes over the rocks must be quite large. It appears that in the present times, even during extended periods of drought, the falls are active, therefore it may be said that in Indian days, when the island was more heavily wooded than it is now, they never ceased. The lower waterfall discharges into a pool about 5 ft. deep and 12 ft. in diam- eter, which in turn empties into a second pool about seven feet lower. This lat- AND MONOGRAPHS 50 VIRGIN ISLANDS ter pool, in which the water is quite tranquil, is about 614 ft. deep, 14 ft. wide, and 9 ft. broad. The water, filtered during its long course through the hills, is excellent for drinking purposes, and doubtless the Indians visiting the south- ern coast of St John must have come here for their supply. It is on the rocks surrounding the lower pool that the petroglyphs are found. Fig. 4 illustrates the carvings on the up- per part of the large rock above this pool, which are not very remarkable. The fig- ure at the extreme left is 19 in. long, while its largest circle is 10 in. in diameter. This glyph probably represents a con- ventionalized human figure. The size of the other etchings shown in this illustra- tion may be determined from the dimen- sions of the one described. Another con- ventionalized human figure is shown at the middle of the photograph, directly above which may be seen (one of them rather faintly) two human faces, each outlined by a circle, with two pits for the eyes and a line for the mouth. The sig- INDIAN NOTES - PETROGLYPHS 51 nificance of the intricate figure between the two conventionalized human heads is not known, and the same may be said eA a mS rs 2. — wh ee ee » we ¥ — . Ss “ei e Fic. 4.—Petroglyphs on a large rock above the second pool, of the carving at the extreme right-hand side of the illustration. On the surface of the lower part of the same rock, shown in fig. 5, there are other carvings, and unless the Indians = = = a 1 AND MONOG ib mihi Google 52 VIRGIN ISLANDS stood in the pool while making them, they must have been produced while the workers lay prone upon the rock. The presence of the line of pits is noteworthy, especially as it is directly above the nor- "re er, iN *4) ww — “hp ighant a ars — e a ae ‘wl — ~~ Lins > ey" my am! AS « Om e Sa ter LJ Fic. 5.—Petroglyphs on the lower part of the large rock above the seeond pool. mal water-line of the pool, which it al- most parallels. At the extreme left of the photograph we find the usual con- ventional face, consisting of a circle, two pits, and a line. A similar carving may be seen a little to the right and somewhat INDIAN NOTES PETROGLYPHS 53 higher, directly under which is a carving of the same character, excepting that the eyes are shown somewhat more elabor- ately by pits surrounded by semicircular lines. The large figure above, beneath the bush, cannot be explained. Under this device, a little to the right, are two scroll-like carvings which more than likely were designed to represent two pairs of human eyes. To the right of these is a conventionalized human figure, the large circle outlining the face, with inner lines for eyes and mouth, the four lines under the circle representing arms and legs. Above this carving, to the right, is what probably was another hu- man, figure, of which the lines represent- ing the left hand, arms, and legs have been obliterated by the elements. In the picture writings at the extreme right, conventionalized eyes are again repre- sented. In order to afford an idea of the size of these carvings, it may be said that the distance from the human face at the extreme left side of the picture to the carvings on the extreme right is Io ft., AND MONOGRAPHS 54 VIRGIN ISLANDS 4 in. The distance from the top of the large figure below the bush to the water- line is 2 ft., 3 in. Only three figures are found on the rocks at the western side of the pool under ig me Da “7 |; «. ta 4 e tery, ed _ ~@ 7) Fic. 6.—Petroglyphs on western side of the lower pool. the second waterfall (fig. 6). The lower- most of these is a cross, the height of which is 17 in. and the width 11 in. It cannot be urged that the Indians inhab- iting or visiting St John derived this conception from the Christian teachings of INDIAN NOTES PETROGLYPHS 55 the discoverers of the New World, as the petroglyphs probably existed many years before the coming of the Spaniards. This carving may have represented a conventional swastika symbol for desig- nating the four cardinal points. The in- tricate carving directly above is beyond explanation, as is the one shown at the extreme left. All carvings at Reef bay are of about the same depth, namely, about a quarter: of an inch. Other petroglyphs existed on these rocks in pre-Columbian times, but they have been almost, and in some cases entirely, obliterated by weathering. A series of srnall cays and islets lies be- tween St Thomas and St John. One of the larger of these is called Lovango cay, and directly north of it is a rocky cay: called Congo cay. The farm is owned in part by Mr Andersen, to whom the writer is indebted for permission to visit Congo cay, which is leased by the owner as a fishing station. Congo cay, with its single landing- ‘place accessible only by rowboat, con- AND MONOGRAPHS 56 VIRGIN ISLANDS sists of a rocky ridge, in shape somewhat resembling the fin of a shark. The cay is practically devoid of vegetation, and its only advantage is that it seems to be the best station for line-fishing in the waters surrounding St Thomas and St John. There is no place on the cay that would have afforded facilities for beach- ing Indian canoes, hence such visitors as may have come to the cay must have been taken there by their tribesmen who were obliged to return later to carry them away. The petroglyphs of Congo cay are on the rock at the extreme eastern part (fig. 7, 8). It will be noted that the rock is almost horizontal and that it faces the islet known as Caravel rock, to the east- ward. The cavity in the middle of the rock is not artificial, as some have sup- posed, but was caused by the decompo- sition of the stone. Several rocks on Congo cay have similar cavities. The petroglyphs here, shown in detail in fig. 8, are the only ones to be seen on Congo cay, and are singularly uninter- INDIAN NOTES PETROGLYPHS 57 esting. The figure at the upper left of the illustration represents a convention- alized human face. To the right of this may be seen an even cruder pecking of a human face, consisting simply of a circle, — 4 wk = a. <«—; Ss Fic. 7.—Petroglyphs on flat bowlder at eastern extrem- ity of Congo cay two pits, anda line. A little to the right of this are three circles with central pits. Judging by the arrangement of these lat- ter circles, the two that are in conjunction probably represent the eyes and the third one the mouth, so that together the group j———____ 1 AND MONOGRAPHS 58 VIRGIN ISLANDS was designed to represent a human face. In the lower center of the picture is a circle enclosing two conjoined circles with the usual pits. The largest circle in this case has an appendage of four lines and ee os ‘ & he - sre ve is _t : Fic. 8.—Petroglyphs on bowlder, and cavity in the , stone. a dot, and the entire carving probably represents a conventionalized human fig- ure. Above and to the right of this are two concentric circles with a central pit. As on Reef bay, it is likely that a much INDIAN NOTES PETROGLYPHS 59 greater number of petroglyphs existed upon this rock in pre-Columbian times and that the action of wind and water has obliterated many of them. The carvings are about a quarter of an inch deep. As an indication of the size of the petro- glyphs, it may be said that the width of the cavity shown in the illustration is 13 in., the depth 314 in., and the length 44 in. From the figure at the extreme left of fig. 8 to that on the extreme right is 3114 in. The rock itself is about 35 ft. above sea level. Evidence was discovered on Lovango cay that it had been inhabited in pre- Columbian times, hence it is probable that members of the tribe came to Congo cay to fish. What appears to be an arti- ficial mortar hole, about 5 in. in diameter and 4 in. deep, exists in one of the rocks near that on which the carvings are found. It is possible that this depression was used by the Indians for pounding the salt used for curing the fish caught during their stay on the cay. AND MONOGRAPHS 60 VIRGIN ISLANDS THE ARTIFACTS As the artifacts found on St Thomas and St Croix pertain to the same culture, it is permissible to discuss them as a whole, regardless of the particular is- lands from which they respectively came. EARTHENWARE BURIAL VESSELS Without exception, the vessels that ac- companied the burials are. severely plain, being devoid of painted, incised, or im- pressed decoration. The receptacles vary = | Fic. 9.—Burial vessel from Magen's bay, St Thomas. in size and form from a small, shallow, oval bowl (fig. 9), 9 in. long and 74 in. wide, to a large, deep vessel (fig. 10) of which the diameter at the rim is 1414 in. INDIAN NOTES DE BOOY — VIRGIN ISLANDS PL. VI 6 BURIAL VESSELS FROM SALT RIVER, ST CROIX Vol. 3 Physica! Anthropology of the Lenape or Dela- wares, and of the Eastern Indians in Gen- eral. By Ale’ Hrdlitka. (Bur. of Amer. Ethnol., Bull. 62,1916, with added title-page and cover.) $1.00. ; Vol. 4 No. 1: The Technique of Porcupine-Quill Decoration among the North American In- dians. By William C. Orchard. 1916. $1.00. No. 2: Certain Archeological Investigations in Trinidad, British West Indies. By Theo- door de Booy. Reprinted from Amer. An- thropol., Vol. 19, 191% No. 4. ox No. 3: The Nacoochee Mound in rgia. By George G. Heye, F. W. Hodge, and George H. Pepper. 1918. $1.50. Vol. 5 No. 1: A Letter of Pedro de Alvarado Relating to His Expedition to Ecuador [1534]. By Marshall-H. Saville. 1917. 50c. No. 2: The Die uefio Ceremony of the Death- mages. By E. H. Davis. 1919. 50c. No. 3: Certain Mounds in Haywood Zounty, North Carolina. By George G. Heye. Re- printed from Holmes Anniversary Volume, 1916. IQI9. 50c. No. 4: Exploration of Aboriginal Sites at Throgs Neck and Clasons Point, New York City. By Alanson Skinner. 1919. $1.00. Address: MusEuM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, HEYE FOUNDATION, BroapDWway AT I55TH ST., New York City. DATE DUE DEMCO 38-297 & mm nail i TT 2044 042 058 990 [| ~_* e224 =. FS. Soe ©. ‘- oe) _— o- ee ye “+ ~* tne ae afar s a * oy, a= ate a ame =. * we = 4 _y eae 6 & ee a - _--* ”* ae e244 “<2 «* a= - o* sf “= > + “> r2: ass — -_s* - _- ee 4s 7 = =— =e 4 * -* * 2y 2 ae Ce Os 4. “Fy, < * + ‘<= ah = ne -_* _—— me = 22he = ee) ee Cx) s4 = = = r= “6 ae @. M, sa --- ee 7” tee ss ae on? tee eae ue <=> ee Fue ~ = = a Wat et ae r 3 = = ~—_- -~ ee es -_ = —-* = 22¥ t- = a +=" a “as -a-* eee as) 2 (aw RE ae a) he oe yy =22 me! n> i— ee eee SF Lae = >= -* “* -~* Cx Ww 2 < —= a es * ee ~*2e s oe aes x -- aaa -* eo) Py as a —* + = sa — — a os = ow) a -_* a7 &* © ae > a e< +e ee = =. se Coo 2 auehe == Smee oer ‘=f ——- 7 a ee -—*- ~~ 2 =» DB. ~~ ee — =e) a S oe ee ee —ean = * ~~ = 7. ss tines ~~ = _— +, me > ~= -* A Re =~ * ont ewer tee i] = =“e a ee om ~~—e een an x= ee i +. _— LL x ee -_nG@nmeaen Be aot & + * ~~ rt.) A+= “<2 *S8eaws =n Om 8 a + mS, ae “ss ~-<-= 7 A “= es om * ~-—= ~tHe = = ree) Pe 7 ae -—- we a ‘ab ae 4 J ATM, See ** ~_— i ~f. A. _— = a= = ~_s= = *- me Ly! i+ 4+4 ~ > += = —_—- =a wnt “=e 2 _—a« [AAT —_~- se ele ng ~s 2 Been Px a a x pe - = <) ale == ~_— i+ a + -~+#* == =< —— =< = = = -~- x) a se ~* = -—- <> = a”. -+<-+ aa —_- —_ = —— se -< +s, = tA - at = > = ae “<= ~_- 7 _*. toy = °- ta “« “_ nae ~ a -e- —— —< f. -~<= > o_o Gee ~*~ ee —s* — += —— “= ie -—-*~ ~~ AP. ~~ es ee =<. s* ~ * 2 @etuce “* _—~ = “pesrasia- ~~ see ~~ - 7 ~_-=* teen eo + ~- © ‘ag — +-- == =k a= = > -.= ame = ca = **. a “~@ 4“. 28 - eS .* Loot. _—— —_ _- : ~ + aa f= Oo. “--* “= ieee) Se == = = ae =} -~—* + Per ~ 6m “1. *-« > =<: 1 AP ~ rr * _- = ry 2 Cre! -_-- eee ee Pe katte an a= eae Ab * a 5 = 2 yr - CAA. ~~ ere += a =e too La a= ——** se MEA A i" wae = ee eh A sin 4 -_ a+ «et _ . oo ~~ ~- Wwe = vin —-_ rr etyne Cr Se e. ~s% ( as —s —* Ro . pas — «-re * - oo i.3 oo lS. a “> + a © tee aoe +e = = Ss ete a pe yr = oe oe "<> ask Ani oe a a -A_= oa A