THE PAINTING OF HUMAN BONES AMONG THE INDIANS. 015 



nre iiiieartluHl oii>-lit to fourteen days after hui'ial. Hu' hones are 

 tliorouo'lily cleaned/ ''They were l)rou<i'lit and all parts of the 

 skeleton were, he fore our e^^'e's, painted red. They hegan with the 

 skull. The Avhole was a])parently a mode of decoration." * The 

 ])ainted skull was additionally ])asted over with red feathers. All 

 the hones, skull included, were ])laced in a hasket, which served 

 for the final interment and which also receiA^ed a coat of red, being 

 in addition well covered with red feathers. The red ])io-uient was 

 a vegetahli' substance obtained from a cei'tain seed."" 



I have thus far found no historical evidence of l)one ])aintinG: 

 in Peru. There is no e.\ani})le of it a mono- the over '200 ]\'ru,vian 

 skidls in the National JMuseum. Among more than 500 ancient 

 Peru\ian crania of ihc liandi'lier collection in the American jNIuseum 

 there is but one that shows distinct red stains, but these seem to bo 

 more accidental than otherwise. But in the more recent Galfron 

 collection iu that museum thei'e is a male adult skull, from the neigh- 

 borhood of C'uzco (No. 1)9-)3(>Sl?), which shows over large portions of 

 its surface a hrm pink incrustation, in all ])robability the renniant of 

 intentionally applied })aint. According to E. Krause tliere is in the 

 Heifs-Stiibel collection of crania from Aucon. Peru, one of which the 

 face is covered with '" znmober."" " 



The painting of designs on human skulls on this continent requires 

 but few words. I have seen oidy five specimens of this sort and 

 found no mention of others. Four of the <'rania. one from Cali- 

 fornia, two A\'asco fi'om the Columbia Ri\'er, and one from the Santa 

 Cruz Island. California, are in the National Museum, and one found 

 by Mr. H. I. Smith at Lytton, British Columbia, is in the American 

 Mnseuui of Natural History. The design on all but the Santa Cruz 

 Island specimen consists of red. or in one of the AVasco skulls red 

 aiul blue, cross made in very nnich the same manner (see fig. •_!, 

 jd. Ji). It is in all i)robability a recent work of some of the Chris- 

 tianized Indians. The Santa Cruz Island skull shows a ])artly 

 faded. ai)parently ancient design, iu black, above and under the oi'bits 

 and on the maxilla' (see I'liX- -. ]>1. j). A human sivull, the vault 

 of which has been cut otl", while the remainder was painted Avith 

 brown stivaks and fitted into a stringed nnisical instrument, is pre- 

 served in the Metro])()litan Museum of Art, Xew York, and was 

 sup|)osed to be of south American origin, but it came in all i)r<)ba- 

 l)ility fi'om Africa. 



TIIK SKiMIMC WCF. OV KOXK I'AINTIXC; AMONO INDIANS. 



Bone ])ainling among the American al)origines is most |)i-obably 

 a development of the custom of painting the corj)se, just as (lie 

 hitter is an extension of the custom of ])ainting the living. Paint, 



•MJlolms'. i!) !)('<•., litOl. |). nci : V<'rli:ni«ll. IJerl. Aiitlir. (Jes.. .".O. -JS.",. 



