130 BULLETIN 15 6, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



are burial urns of simple form and of comparatively small size. 

 They are not provided with lids as are the earthenware vessels fash- 

 ioned by the modern Cuna Indians of Darien.^* They rest on an 

 annular foot which is connected with the body of the urn by free 

 supports. These are of archeological interest for our study because 

 of their incised and applied decorative motives. A decorated zone 

 consisting of diagonally incised lines forming series of angular de- 

 signs encircles the well-defined oral section. Filling in the angles 

 between the diagonal lines are several fiat-bottomed punctations. 

 These incised lines and punctations resemble similar decorative zones 

 appearing on the incurved walls above the shoulder ridge of earthen- 

 ware vessels from Santo Domingo and from the Gulf coast of the 

 Southeastern States. 



Applied embellishments appearing on the La Gloria burial urns 

 consist of four modeled frog fig-urines luted on the incurved walls of 

 the body of the vessel. Holmes figures the frog design on earthen- 

 ware from Tennessee. (Holmes, fig. 66.) The frog figurine also is 

 a frequent motive on earthenware vessels from the Greater Antilles. 

 In South America it has been mentioned as occurring in northern 

 Argentina (Ambrosetti, fig. 135), also in Brazil, from Counanj', on 

 the coast north of the mouth of the Amazon Eiver (Goeldi, pi. 2). 

 In Peru similar frog figurines are figured bjvSeler and Tello. In 

 Colombia the frog figurine on earthenware vessels is frequently found 

 in the highlands. (Uhle, pis, 3 and 4.) 



An interesting correlation to the comparative absence of Mexican 

 influence in the Greater Antilles lies in the distribution of vessels 

 with clay lids. The Andean and Mexican areas are the exclusive 

 centers for lidded clay vessels, although earthenware stoppers for 

 narrow-necked vessels are known from Panama, Guiana, Venezuela, 

 and from Marajo at the mouth of the Amazon River. Lids to clay 

 vessels are rej)orted from Atures on the Orinoco River. 



At several sites in the valley of the Amazon appear old shards 

 from middens and from graves having inward-gazing figurine heads. 

 There is, however, always some contributing factor to set the design 

 and form as apart from what has come to be known as established 

 Tainan forms and designs from the Greater Antilles. The Manabi 

 Equadorian long slit eye modeling is less characteristic than the more 

 rounded excavation characteristic of Santo Domingan eye forms. 

 The snake design occurs in the Amazon Valley in punctated but 

 not in nodal form. Both types appear as embellishments of Santo 

 Domingan pottery. 



** Krieger, H. W. Material Culture of the People of Southeastern Panama. Bull. 134, 

 U. S. Nat. Mus., 1926. 



