These stone objects are carved from a greyish-white stone called volcanic tuff. They have been found at a small number of archaeological sites in Ecuador. Most examples are from sites on the Island of La Plata, located 30 km off the south-central Ecuadorian coast, and a few examples have also beenrecovered from the site of Salango on the mainland. These mysterious objects can be square, rectangular or circular in shape. Some are decorated with incised lines and circles, while others are undecorated. The eight examples in the SFU collection are all rectangular and are perforated lengthwise so that they could have been strung. Six of the objects in the SFU collection are decorated on all four sides with three circular incisions around a small incised dot. The seventh example is undecorated and the eighth example is decorated with a different number (7, 10, 12 and 14) of incised circles around a dot on each side.Archaeologists do not know the function of these objects. In the past researchers have suggested that they may have functioned as gaming pieces or navigational aids. A clue to their function may be hinted at by the archaeological context in which they were found. Archaeologists believe that the Salango site and sites on the island of La Plata were ceremonial places, based on the many human burials, figurines, and spondylus shells found there. The presence of the stone objects at these sites might indicate that they had a ceremonial or ritual function. But perhaps that is what archaeologists often say when they are unable to explain a particular kind of artifact!