36 BULLETIN 134, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



on a stone metate. The container is 21.8 cm. (8.6 in.) in longitudi- 

 nal diameter. The mouth is but 3 cm. (1.2 in.) across and is en- 

 circled by concentric circles of incised zigzag lines from which pro- 

 ject short lines at right angles, like emanating light beams. About 

 the lateral sides of the vessel are arranged characteristic zigzag in- 

 cisions in series of semicircular loops (pi. 1, No. 5). 



Museum No. 327531 (pi. 1, No. 6), a calabash spoon, u wesara " 

 (Tule) is made from a segment of a large calabash shell. The 

 slender handle portion is recurved, probably through drying un- 

 equally on the inner and outer surfaces. An ornamental design is 

 employed in which rectangular diamond-shaped figures are brought 

 into low relief by the incising of series of two parallel lines in char- 

 acteristic zigzag detail around their margin; by so doing the in- 

 cised lines and the untouched cortex between both become parts of 

 the decorative motive. In this design the Tule duplicate the decor- 

 ative pattern of the Choco of the South Darien coast, but employ 

 incised calabash shell where the Choco employ caruto and anatto 

 dyes in black and yellow on balsa wood. 



Museum No. 127131 (pi. 1, No. 7) is a spoon cut from a section of 

 jicara fruit 16.6 cm. (6.5 in.) in length and 4.5 cm. (1.75 in.) in 

 greatest diameter. When placed alongside of objects from Darien, 

 this specimen from Dutch Guiana shows a contrast with the typical 

 Panamanian design in that it has a wide margin the full length 

 of the spoon from which the surface skin has been removed. This 

 procedure brings into low relief the central portion with its more 

 yellow outer skin color, which thus becomes the ornamental design 

 rath:r than the incised portion, as is the case with the Central 

 American method. 



A strainer, "puyhu" (Tule), 25.2 cm. (10.2 in.) in greatest di- 

 ameter at rim, made by cutting a calabash in halves and removing the 

 pulp, was collected by the Marsh-Darien expedition from the Tule 

 of the San Bias coast and is catalogued as Museum No. 327529 

 (pi. 1, No. 8). The bottom up to the diameter of 16.3 cm. (6.4 in.), 

 nearly half way up the lateral walls, is perforated with small 

 round holes in series of parallel concentric circles. The wide mar- 

 gin is imperforated but is ornamented with several semicircular 

 incised lines not in the characteristic broad zigzag pattern, but made 

 with a sharp-pointed instrument, leaving narrow, clean-cut lines as 

 in calabash rattle Museum No. 327386 (pi. 8, No. 1). 



Museum No. 327525 (pi. 1, No. 9), a decorated calabash receptacle 

 or dish 22.5 cm. (8.8 in.) in diameter, is made from a halved cala- 

 bash shell. The outer bottom surface is covered with a series of three 

 sets of concentric incis.d circles, each set consisting of three circles, 

 each circle made in the form of a characteristic broad transversely 



