CULTURE OF PEOPLE OF SOUTHEASTERN PANAMA 71 



flaring. The four corners are squared, giving the bowl a rectangu- 

 lar appearance at the margin; this appearance is emphasized by a 

 slight depression molded into the margin at each corner. The col- 

 oration of these shallow bowls is a dark chocolate brown. 



Another peculiar pottery design is found in the form of an ob- 

 long shallow Tule bowl 23.4 cm. (9.2 in.) in length, 14.4 cm. (5.7 in.) 

 in width, and 6.6 cm. (2.6 in.) in height including the foot 

 support (Cat. No. 327322, U.S.N.M.; pi. 16, No. 3). The bowl 

 rests upon a foot or base that is roughly identical in form 

 and size. The bottom of the foot is not flattened and solid, but 

 hollow with concave walls. The inner surface of the bowl, to the 

 contrary, is not spherical but flattened into three concentric tiers 

 of horizontal surfaces, of which the upper tier is the flaring mar- 

 gin, upon which, at each end, is a decorative design consisting of a 

 series of incised geometric lines in zigzag pattern. The inner and 

 outer surfaces are smoothly polished and fired to a chocolate brown. 



Another form of the shallow globose hemispherical bowl is 17.4 

 cm. (6.8 in.) long, 12.4 cm. (4.8 in.) wide, and 6.6 cm. (2.6 in.) high, 

 resting upon two transverse supports, each modeled from an elon- 

 gated slab of clay and resembling the lateral seat supports 

 of the Tule and Cuna (Cat, No. 327324, U.S.N.M.; pi. 16, No. 4). 

 Another feature to be noted consists of the luting on of 

 two bosses, one to each of the longitudinal surfaces at the 

 center. These bosses are not decorative but utilitarian and are em- 

 ployed as lugs to which an extemporaneously arranged bast handle 

 may be attached. Another shallow, oval, hemispherical bowl, 14.8 

 cm. (5.8 in.) in length, 9.9 cm. (3.9 in.) in width, and 4.5 cm. (1.8 

 in.) high, has a boss several centimeters in length luted on at one 

 end and employed as a handle or grip (Cat. No. 327333, U.S.N.M. ; 

 pi. 16. No. 5)/ 



A Tule bowl with dark brown surface from which many 

 fragments have been chipped (Cat. No. 327325, U.S.N.M.; pi. 16, 

 No. 6), indicates that the paste has been improperly pulverized 

 and the tempering ingredients not thoroughly mixed. In this 

 bowl and in other broken pottery vessels and fragments, the 

 paste shows a temper consisting of a large number of white graules 

 that are varices of Murex shell ; in others, especially in the Cuna 

 ware, similar white granules appear, but consist of ashes from 

 climbing plants yielding silica. In most of the common ware the 

 paste is quite coarse, containing particles of unpulverized clay or 

 broken bits of pottery as large as one centimeter in diameter. 



In a water jar, designed to keep the water aerated and cool, a 

 porous ware is desirable. In most canteens, however, and chicha 

 storage jars from Darien, no approach toward the securing of a 



