As bearing upon the possible use of these specimens it should be noticed that similar stool-like objects are made of clay, the softness and fragility of which would render them unsuitable for use as mealing plates or mortars, and it would also appear that they are rather fragile for use as stools. I would suggest that they may have served as supports for articles such as vases or idols employed in religious rites, or possibly as altars for offerings.
[ Celts.—]
The class of implements usually denominated celts is represented by several hundred specimens, nearly all of which are in a perfect state of preservation. They are thoroughly well made and beautifully finished, and leave the impression upon the mind that they must represent the very highest plane of Stone Age art.
Although varying widely in form and finish there is great homogeneity of characters, the marked family resemblance suggesting a single people and a single period or stage of culture. They are found in the cists along with other relics and are very generally distributed, a limited number, rarely more than three, being found in a single grave. They may be classified by shape into a number of groups, each of which, however, will be found to grade more or less completely into the others. They display all degrees of finish from the freshly flaked to the evenly picked and wholly polished surface. The edges or points of nearly all show the contour and polish that come from long though careful use. All are made of compact, dark, volcanic tufa that resembles very closely a fine grained slate. The following illustrations include all the more important types of form. There are but few specimens of very large size. That shown in Fig. 14 is 8¼ inches long, 4 inches wide, and seven-eighths of an inch thick. The blade is broad at the edge, rounded in outline, and well polished. The upper
end terminates in a rather sharp point that shows the rough flaked surface of the original blocking out. The middle portion exhibits an evenly picked surface. The rock is a dark slaty looking tufa, the surface of which displays ring or rosette-like markings, reminding one of the polished surface of a section of fossil coral. These markings probably come from the decomposition of the mineral constituents of the rock.
The implement given in Fig. 15 may be taken as a type of a large class of beautifully finished celts. It also is made of the dark tufa, very fine grained and compact, resembling slate. The beveled surfaces of the blade are well polished, the remainder of the surface being evenly picked. The hexagonal section is characteristic of the class, but it is not so decided in this as in some other pieces in which the whole surface is freshly ground.
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| Fig. 15. Celt of hexagonal section made of dark compact tufa—½. | Fig. 16. Small wide bladed celt made of dark tufa—½. |
The contraction of the lateral outline and the sudden expansion on reaching the cutting edge noticed in this specimen are more clearly marked in other examples. The small celt shown in Fig. 16 is narrow above and quite wide toward the edge. A wide, thick specimen is
given in Fig. 17. A specimen quite exceptional in Chiriqui is shown in Fig. 18. Mr. McNiel states that in many years’ exploration this is the only piece seen that exhibits the constriction of outline characteristic of grooved axes.