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FEWKES] PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PORTO RICO 21 oughly native as they appeal', may have been the property of races other than the prehistoric Porto Rican. Of the three methods of treating the subject, the archeological, which is followed in the main in this report, also offers a good opportunity for original work; but data are drawn from historical and ethnographical sources to give the memoir a more comprehensive character, and are introduced when necessary to interpret the meaning of archeological objects. PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PORTO RICO The culture of a people is largely determined by its environment. The climate, fauna, flora, geology, and other physical conditions are important elements of this environment. Isolation, with consequent freedom from attack of foes, by which pure blood is retained for a considerable time, develops characteristic cultures in different parts of the world which vary with physiographical conditions. A brief description of the physical f~atures of Porto Rico naturally precedes, therefore, a study of the culture of its aboriginal inhabitants. Porto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles, is situated in the Tropics, between North and South America. Its greatest length from east to west is a little more than 100 miles and its width about 36, the area being approximately 3,600 square miles.a There are no islands near Porto Rico in the Atlantic ocean on the north, and the watery waste of the Caribbean sea separates it from South America on the south, so that access from either direction implies extensive knowledge of ocean navigation. Near its eastern end begins the Lesser Antilles,. a chain of islands, one almost in sight of another, extending southward to the mouth of the Orinoco, in Venezuela. On the west a comparatively narrow strait separates Porto Rico from Haiti, which in turn lies not far from Cuba. In short, the island of Porto Rico may be /:laid to be situated midway in the chain of island8 connecting Florida and Venezuela. A chain of mountains, culminating at an altitude of about foul' thousand feet in the Yunque at the eastern end, crosses the island from east to west. These mountains are formed in part of calcareous rock,. and contain many caves. On the north and south sides of the mountainous backbone there are small parallel ranges of rounded hills,. skirted by low land along the coasts. The shores have a few good harbors , into which flow several rivers and lagoons that offer favorable places for that peculiar fluviatile culture characteristic of people like those who live on the delta at the mouth of the Orinoco and around ---_.._-a W. M. Elliott, Report of the Commissioner of the Interior for Porto Rico to the Secretary of the Interior, Washington, 1900. See also Manuel Ubeda y Delgado, Isla de Puerto Rico, Estudio Hist6rico-geogl1Ulco, Puerto. Rico,1878. 22 THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO [ETH. ANN. 25 Lake Maracaibo. The caves along the north coast are large, and the beaches afford good landings and camping resorts, the sites of the latter being generally indicated by shell heaps of some size. The winter is never cold in Porto Rico. The trees and plants yield edible food throughout the year, removing one stimulus to store a food supply that is felt by the primitive agdculturist of the Temperate zones. An inducement to economy of food and to a development of high cultUl'e thereby is rarely found in theTropics.lt Vegetable food is available at all times. There are seasons for planting and harvesting, but no arid deserts to disappoint the agriculturist. The land is well watered, inviting tillage at all times. The temperature in Porto Rico never falls to a point where men need firewood to keep them warm or closed houses to shield them from cold. The only shelter one requires is a protection from rain and sun. Both the fauna and the flora of the West Indies are South American in their affinities, and animals and plants such as belong to that part of the continent served the natives for food. Of indigenous animals there may be mentioned the agouti, utia, bats, and various lizards, as the iguanas. It is not saying too much to affirm that the majority of large indigenous animals capable of being utilized as food by the natives were derived from South America. The same statement applies to native plants and trees which served for food, raiment, houses, and canoes, and to those that furnisheu fibers. Among others may be mentioned...

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