342 Philip Ainsworth Means, 



As the specimen here shown has a headdress that has several 

 points in common with that of the chief figure in Figure i, it is 

 assumed for the nonce that this "portrait" is Proto-Chimu. No 

 one who has studied a series of these human-faced vessels and 

 has noticed the wide differences and unfailing individualization 

 that characterize each one of them can fail to lean toward the 

 belief that this type of vase is indeed a "portrait type." There 

 is absolutely nothing of inherent impossibility about the idea that 

 a people so highly gifted with plastic skill as the Proto-Chimu 

 people may have developed the habit of employing their vessels 

 as a medium whereby to perpetuate the likenesses of their great 

 men. In any case, empirical evidence leads us to believe that 

 some such habit did prevail, for every good specimen of the 

 "portrait type" portrays an individual, not a type. And it should 

 be noted that realistic portrait-making is in entire accord with the 

 marked realistic tendencies of the Proto-Chimu culture pottery. 

 Nor are "portrait types" lacking in other parts of America.'^ 



Last of all, in the matter of Proto-Chimu sub-types, comes 

 that variety which is represented by Plate I, Figure 5. In this 

 division come almost innumerable stylistic decorations which, 

 though they may show slight conventionalization, never show 

 geometrical tendencies to the exclusion of all curves. The pres- 

 ent specimen, in the writer's opinion, is intended to represent a 

 starfish.^ In this type also occur many variations of the "stair- 

 sign" (signo escalonado) often in conjunction with the starfish 

 (or octopus) motif. 



Passing over for the present the numerous forms of pottery 

 which may some day be definitely assigned to this period (a 

 passing-over process which will have to be repeated many times 

 in the present state of our information), we will endeavor to 

 draw up a tentative classification of the Proto-Chimu sub-types. 



Sub-type I Landscapes. Vessels having modelled scenes as 

 well as painted or engraved ones. Usual 

 colors : white or cream slip, dark brown and 

 red. 



' Spinden (1916b) claims them for Central America, and Holmes 

 (1916b) shows an excellent example of aboriginal portraiture from 

 Quirigua. 



* It is the opinion of Prof. MacCurdy that the design here mentioned is 

 derived from the octopus, not from the starfish. This, of course, may 

 well be the case. 



