(Overgedrukt nit ile Bijdragen lut de Timl-, Lmid- en Voikenkuude van Nederlaudsoh-Indië. 5^e Voigr. IV.)

ON VVKST INDIAN STONK IMPLKMKN\'PS, AND OTIIHII INDIAN KKICK\'S

nv

Dr. If. F. C. TEN KATE Jim.

During tlio journey wicli I undertook in lSSr»/S(5 to the West Indies and Venezuela, under the auspices of Prince Roland Bonaparte, the late Dr. I\'ltnil Ricbcck and Toylor\'s (icnootscliap ¹ , i collected a certain number of ancient Indian stone iinplcmenls. In the following pages I shall try to give a brief description of a part of these specimens, all of which belong at present to the Kthnographical Mnseums of fjciden and Berlin. For comparison and to be more complete, I have added (he description and figures of a small, though more or less representative, number of stone implements, mostly from Dutch Guiana or Surinam, in public and private collections in the Netherlands. Furthermore 1 shall add a few notes on other Indian relics of diflerent kinds which occur hi Surinam.

The Archaeological anil Kthnographical Museums in Leiden have furnished the greater part of these, implements. The former institution mostly owes these objects to Mr. (!. (i. I lering in Paramaribo: the latter establishment is indebted to Mr. (J. (J. Young in New Amsterdam, Herbice , for a number of stone implements from Mritish (iuiana which were most generously presented by him. ;\\ few other specimens belong to Mr. (). A. van Sypesteyn , ex-governor of Surinam , now in the Ifaguc, and to Prof. K\'. Martin, in liciden, which were kindly placed at my disposal by the owners. Finally the late Dr. \'\'• Ran, in Washington, kindly furnished me with the illustrations ol two specimens from Suimam which the Smithsonian Institution possesses through Mr. 1 lering.

\' Of. Tijdsein-, van lint Nedorl. Aardrijksk. Opnijij|»olift|i, üo Soric ill. Ill, Vernl. en Medod., on/.

2

Before adding any explanatory notes to the specimens of stone implements figured here, T will now give a few general remarks us to the oceurrencc of these objects in Surinam.

Among the Indian tribes in Dutch Guiana, of which we possess certain knowledge, viz. the Caribs, Arowalcs, and Warraus, stone implements ar.\' no longer in use. At present stone implements occur in Surinam in two diflerent ways: l», s.-attered like usual stones on the surface of the ground, and 2». preserved in the houses ol modem Indians, Negroes and Creoles. As far as I know, pos.t.ve evidence of the existence of shell mounds in Surmam, like those in British Guiana, is missing; so we do not know ol any stone

implement from such a source.

The tirst way mentioned in which stone implements are lound is the most common. The number of those found among the Indians seems by no means to be considerable, and I think one might fmd as many of these, objects in the hands of Negroes and Creoles troughout the Colony as among the Indians above mentioned, I suppose the Indians of Surinam have the same reasons for preserving these stones

us those mentioned by Mr. im Thuru ¹ viz. in the first place for smoothing and polishing the clay in the making of pottery, and i„ the second place because some superstitious property seems to he ascribed to them. 1 never found any ornamented example ; only one ₍,r my specimens (IK 17), obtained from Carib Indians on Wayomho river, had merely a slight coat of pigment, probably intentionally

laid on.

The. world-wide spread superstition that ancient stone implements have fallen from the sky and are considered as //thunderbolts// and //thunderstones// is equally found in Surinam, especially among Negroes. These objects are sometimes used by them as charms against

strokes of lightning.

Ail the specimen of stone implements from Surinam which came in\'mv hands, like those from other parts of the West Indies and Venezuela, are polished and highly finished thus present mg the

so-called neolithic characteristics. ²

As the stone implements here described have not been rigorously

\' Amniii! tin- ImliaiiH (it Quiium. liimdi\'» IS».!, p.

» It senn- that the «euorally (ulmittod upini.m that West-Indian hUuc unphv mentH are always highly flnMu-d must allow ..f a few oxooptinn. uh Uakod c uppo

„„J uMpoliHhed .....................have ........ found in the Antillnt. See the üuesde Cotlec-

tion of Antiquities, by Otis T. Mason. Sinithsonian Heport for 1884. p. , .

,1

examined as to the petrographical character, it i? impossible to give at present a certain diagnosis of them , but we may safely say that a certain number among them consists of diabas. However 1 think the petrographic diagnosis of these stones is here of very little iinportanee as Snrinam and the adjacent regions ol South Ami\'rica, especially British Guiana, and the West Indian islands present so much the same geological features that even a professional petrographic description would in this case not throw any light on the question whether these implements have hecn brought to Surinam Irom the northwest — continent or islands — or have been made in that country itself. Thus only the comparison of the formation of the implements can, in this case, throw any light on the subject of Indian migrations

Several specimen have lost tiieir natural color, i. e. the color of the stone of which they are made, by the influence of time and weather, probably in most oases due to long continuance in the soil in which they were found. So one specimen (Sll. 7) in even covered with a thick patina. Others, though it may be their natural color, offer such indefinite colors and varieties ol tints that it was next to impossible to give any reliable description of it. i\'lven by means ol. Radde¹ s chromatic tables I failed, in many cases, to define the exact color.

For convenience\'s sake I have reproduced the marks and numbers by which the specimens were registered or marked in the inn sea, or by their respective owners, at the time I studied them. Thus the specimens marked S., SI/ , S. ■/ «. h., SS., and S. (hi. belong to the National Museum of Antiquities in Ijciden , which initials indi cate the provenance and the name of the collector; e. g. S II = Surinam ., Hervng, etc.

The specimens marked t. K., li, and Y form a part of the National Museum of Kthnography in liC.iden; t K = /r» ka/r; I/ = Loth; Y = Young. Those marked M are private property of I\'rof. Martin ; those v. Sype/tL of ex-governor van Sypesteyn. Finally IV. indicates the specimens in the Smithsonian collections at Washington.

As no typical dillerence can be established between the implements here under review, as to the region in Surinam they come from, it may suffice to say that they were all collected in different parts of Surinam, with the exception, of course, of those obtained in British Guiana by Mr. Young, and whioh come either from the coast, or from Demerara- and Berbice rivers.

4

It may he as well to mcntiuii here that as (vganls the illustra-fions iiikI annexed explanatory notes, I have made a representative selection among the speeitnuns in both the Ijciden musea, and thai especially the Museum ol\' Auti([uities contains, besides the specimens iigured here, a large collection ol\' stone-, and shell implements and other Indian relics from the West 1 ndies^mostly I\'rom Aruba and Curasao. ol\' wich latter objects particularly a description has never as yet b(;eii published. - I

I disposed in all over oS specimens, of which annexed illustrations may give an idea. As all those specimens have been Iigured in half size it seems superlluous to give any measurements or a minute description. I shall only add a few rematrks as far as the typical forms, their probable use and occurrence is concerned.

In two dilferent papers, known to me, in which is treated of West Indian stone implements, two of the. specimens (marked S. ,1. v. 1j, and S. (In.) Iigured here, have already been described and Iigured, viz. by K. Friedel \', and seven or eight, of which one (marked S. ,1. v. L.) equally by Friedelquot;, by Dr. (J. Leemans, Director of the Leiden Museum of Antiquities ². I am sorry to say that a few of the illustrations, both in the /Mtschrijt and in the Cuuijdc rrndn represent the specimens, which I closely compared in the Leiden Museum of Antiquities, in a rather inaccurate way.

I perfectly agree with !);• Leemans when he says (/wt-. c/7.) that b\'uj. 5), pi. II in Friedcl\'s paper is probably not procured in Dutch (jiuiana, and designated by mistake as being a hammer. I must add that I consider if very doubtful whether the specimen (Nu. I I) iigured by Friedel was found in Dritish (juiana. Proljably Friedcl\'s assertion is based upon a misuriderstanding.

Prof. K Martin Iigured two of the stone implements , illustrated here by me, in his work llfsi-lndischt; Sknzcn (Leiden ISS7), Tulj. \\ 1, /\'\'/V/.v. 1 •quot;) en 11.

Though brief this enumeration of authors who have ])rcviously described or Iigured stone implements from iSurinam may be, I think it is probably complete.

Furthermore Mr. Kvcrard F. im Thnrn ^:t has described and figured

^I Sop Zeittiohrift fiii- Rfchncliijfie V, IS?:!. ]■, 40, U , l\'l. II.

(\'Dniptc roiulu •!(\' la Hossion du Cmip-èH intonmtioiial doH Amdi-icaniHteH. Luxetnbi\'urj,\' 187H. T^u» II, |i. 2!))

^II Soc Tiuiolui: Ijeing Uio .(quot;Uriiul quot;f Uio ll iyal Agricultural and CV-mmoicial

a muriber of stone ini|)lf\'nicMl,s IVom Hril.isli (iuiana and the West Imli.ni islands, thus riimishing iulei\'estiiiff material lor comparison, I sliall occasionally roler to his publications in the course of these notes.

The stone implements ligurcd here all helony to the //practical\'/ Ibrms. Of the //ornamental// forms there was not a single one among the specimens which I had at my disposal.

These //practical// forms represent IVom ten to twelve types of which a lew closely resemble and as it were run into each other; they arc with difficulty to he classified with perfect decision. Although mostly representing common types, two of the types in my collection seem to be rather rare; at least hitherto I never came across any other similar specimens, neither in collections nor in literature.

Among the-common forms I firstly point to Figs. VV. -J, S. Jl. 7, (\'• K. I.), Y. 14, S. 11. s, representing slight variations of the bilaterally notched type with square butt, which has been compared to the longitudinal section of a //button mushroom//. This type, as well as the following notched forms, might be called the West Indian typical stone blades //(//• excellence.

All the specimens of this square-butted type figured here, present a more or less distinct, probably intentional asymmetry of the but! and notches ¹ , possibly for the sake of more convenient hafting and strengthening of the striking power of the weapon.

As shown in the illustrations, there are a few other types, partly

running into each other, with bilateral notches, namelv two or l • ⁷ three types with more or less square, heavy butts (See /\'/V/.v S. II.

\'• ■ 17, t- K. 1lt;S, S. 11. !• and t. I\\. i) , t. K. •]] and two types with convex butts (/\'///.v. S, S. I , H. («n., S. II. hi).

It is hard to say whether t. K. IS represents a finished specimen, or, considered as unfinished, is to be considered as one of the side-notched types of which S. II. I!) furnishes an example,

l\'igs. t, K. 1, t. K •quot;) and jVI . 3 uf the convex butted types represent by their peculiar semicircular edge and smallness a special form ol the notched stone implements.

I\'ign. S. J, v, L. and t. K. II may furnish examples of the most simple notched forms. I\'lie latter example stands very closely to simple celts like illustrated in Figs, t, K. 1(), M. 2, W. 1.

Society ,.f British Guimm, Vnl. T, II; Vol. 11. 1\'. II; Vt.j. Ill, p. |_{; U1K}|

Atniiii;,\' the IncliaiiB nf Ouituiu, |). 431—437, |.1. X.

¹ Cf. ïimelui. Vul. Ill, l\'avt. I, p. 113, pi. 8, fig. (i.

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The petaloid or almond shapefl type, the typical West Indian wceltquot;, among onr specimens is icprcsentcd by fiy. ^

Of tliu more of less wedge shaped, so called Scandinavian type ■Fujs. S H. J, Y i:J, Y 17, Y I, Y 10 may furnish examples. As suggested by Mr. im Thuru ¹ , specimens of this type were most probably inteuted to be socketed into the heavy wooden war clubs (/?/iv), eommonly called ajxjutuu or apaloo in Surinam. A specimen of a kindred form (\\ (!), as tried by me, perfectly iitted into the emptv socket in an old Indian ornamented war club from Guiana (in the Leiden Museum of Ethnography) destined to keep a stone eelt. So i think there is but very little doubt that also implements of this form (among which 8 11 2i) were intended to be fastened into this kind of handle. As far as the just mentioned assertion of Mr, im Tlnun\'s is concerned, 1 wish to remark that in the club preserved in Leiden, the pit or socket destined to keep the stone blade, is on the «Iiki\'/j or narrow side of the club, and not on the broad and Hat side, or face, like Fi\'j. l-\'5 {loo. oil.) seems to indicate.

The war clubs of the Bakairi- and Suya-lndians in the interior of Brazil, as figured by Dr. von den Steinen ¹ may serve to illustrate another way of fastening dilferent unnotehed stone blades (like t K 10, M :i, W I ; V 9) into wooden handles. Very much the same manner of halting seems to have been in use among the ancient inhabitants of the Bahama islands

As forms of the winged type — one of the comparatively rare lorms above mentioned — though lar Iron: being similar to each other in other respects, we may consider Nquot;. :l v. Sypest., S. .1. v. L, 1, S. \\\\. 15, t. K. 7 , No. 4 v. Sypest., S. II. 6.

I consider it very ([uestionable wether these implements, and among these especially N\'ⁿ. ~, v. Sypest., were ever destined to be fastened into a handle. By its general shape, rounded form (which is insufficiently shown in the ligure) and dimension, it might as well have served as an implement — weapon or other — to

¹

Amoiu; the Indian of Guiana» p. \'124, \'125, fii^. t-i and fiy. Z, pi. H).

i Duroh Central Bmsilion. Leipzig 188(1. Etlinologifichcr Tafel Nquot;. II , Fi^-s. :i amp; «.

It in pci\'linp» wol I to romomber here tliat tlio Bakairi arc the soutliorumoBt Carib tribe of IndlanK wliich suggested t.. their disoovcrer. Dr. von den Steinon , a new and very debatable theory on the home and migrations «.f tbe Cariljf, entirely opposed tquot; Ihe views hitherto accepted.

« See the Latimer ............... Aiitilt;|uitipH, by Otis T. Mason. Smithsonian

Report fquot;)\' 1870. p- and (i|.\'- 12,

7

be grasped in the hand, and some what reminds Ftq. fi, pi. X in Mr. im Thurn\'s Indium of Guiana.

N⁰. 4, r. Si/pesl. i.s remarquable for its relative Hat face (unfortunately not very evident in the illustrations) and broad wings. S II (i is noteworthy for its comparatively small butt with somewhat beveled wings, and its broad blade diverging toward the edge.

N⁰\'* t. K. I and L 2, presenting another form of the winged type, are the only specimens of this form T «ver came across as yet.

I think it is very doubtful whether these forms, the former as well as the latter, were ever hafted; possibly they were used as wedges, in working wood, or rather as chopping knives.

The. former example was found by me near the place of an ancient Indian encampment in the Coronie district; the latter was obtained by Mr. W. L. Loth, government-surveyor, on one of his expeditions into the interior of Surinam, if I am not mistaken.

As little as the other stone implements above described, slabs of stone for the cooking of cassava-bread are no longer in use among the Indians of Surinam known to me. A circular iron griddle of European make is now generally used

Likewise the old cassava-graters of which the teeth consisted of numerous small, pointed stones, formerly in use among these Indians, have been replaced by tin graters bought in town. Ft seems that only the Indians in the remote, almost unknown as yet parts of Surinam — like the Rucuyennes — still use these stone graters,

As regards the sites of ancient Indian villages in Surinam I can be short. On the place, where Paramaribo now stands , f. c. at the site of the Military Hospital, traces of ancient Indian settlements on the sand- and shell reef have been found. In the Ooronie district which has been inhabited by Indians in historic times, probably by Warraus \', a number of these sites are to be found, as well on usual sandgrounds as on the shell reefs along the seacoast, which reefs suggested to an explorer the idea that shell mounds or kitchen-middens oecured then;. Although in certain places where the soil was accidental ly (P) some what elevated this suggestion seems true, I do not think we have, any reason to believe that these arc true shell mounds like those in British Cluiana; at least in the tract of country in

Cf. aumiii; ntlierH the old tna|i nf Suriimm in Stcdnum H Vcivuirr k Suiinaui. Citll. tie Phiiiclif¹⁴. [,]. V [\'Vfiich edition.

8

the Cnronic district,, lying between Pins. Belladrun and Inverness, which 1 explored , no such thing was found by inc. Still I cannot deny that a careful search throughout the coast region of Surinam might reveal some interesting ethnological and archaeological findings. Amongst the objects which I collected in Goronie are two deformed Indian skulls, a mimber of broken human bones, a quantity of broken fragments of pottery\', all of which are now in the collections of Prince Roland Bonaparte, and a few stone blades.

Petroglyphs or rock engravings in Surinam were only seen by me on the Maroni river, on the wellknown so called Timehri-rock, opposite Portal island, and examined or described by Kappler, I lering and Oevaux. It seems these engravings, of which many are almost obliterated , must be ranged among the quot;deepquot; kind of Mr. im Thunt\'s classification ¹ Besides this quot;Timehriquot; rock and the pictured rocks on the Corenfyn, I have never heard of any rock-engravings in Surinam. But who knows how much might yet be recorded in the unknown interior of the Colony!

Ouplike excavations, like mortarpits, made by men, and which must not be, though sometimes are, confused with somewhnt similar excavations of. a geologico-dynamic origin ² were seen by me on the Hat surface of rocks on Switi Oassaba island, near the Armina rapids in the Maroni river, together with a certain number of deep, narrow and oblong excavations; of the latter I also found some on the above mentioned Timehri rock.

Closed Sept. JSS7.

¹

lndiaiiB of Ouiima, p. 394.

²

- See Martin, WoHtimliHchn Skiz/on . p. Ii7.

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