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Palmate Stones and Thin Stone Heads: Suggestions on their Possible Use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Gordon F. Ekholm*
Affiliation:
American Museum of Natural History New York, N. Y.

Extract

Following my attempt at an explanation of the function or use of Mexican stone yokes I was led on to consider, in a similar vein, two other classes of well known stone objects also common to the eastern coastal regions of Mexico, namely, the palmas or palmate stones and the thin stone heads, also known as hachas. Both of these groups of objects include some of the finest stone carvings known from the ancient cultures of Mexico, but their curious forms and possible functions have never been satisfactorily explained. Hints or suggestions as to how they may have been used appear to be singularly rare. Those I have been able to gather are equivocal enough and far from conclusive, but I believe they are worth reviewing at the present time as a beginning toward investigation of the problems involved.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1949

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