l66 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 92 



comparisons with the Bay Islands leap to the fore. Tripod globular 

 bowls with identical conical and short cylindrical feet, goblet and ring- 

 based forms, shallow bowls on long tripods, and closely similar (or 

 identical) types of raised, modeled, incised, punctate decoration, and 

 combinations of these techniques, all occur in both Bay Island mono- 

 chrome and Highland Applique wares. The modeled alligator motif, 

 which Hartman (1907 b) has shown to be related to the painted 

 alligator motif in Chiriqui, is also present in the Bay Islands. The 

 fully developed annular base is not overly common in the Highland 

 area, but the pottery stands are closely similar to this type. Incensario 

 types ; occasional extremely crude vessels ; pottery canoe models (with 

 figures, but otherwise like pi. 8, fig. 2, d, e) ; large modeled pottery 

 heads ; hollow figurines, which are without legs or have only conical 

 projections suggesting legs and with heads covered with grotesque 

 applique adornment (Lothrop, 1926, vol. 2, pi. 190) ; pottery whistles ; 

 and cylindrical pottery stamps occur in the Highland region and in 

 the Bay Islands. 



Since the Guetar tribes seem to have been the only historic people 

 known to the Highland region, much of the prehistoric culture of the 

 area can in all probability be ascribed to them.'"' To the south the 

 culture of the Highland Region blends with that of the Chiriqui area, 

 which was likewise occupied by various tribes belonging to the Chib- 

 chan linguistic stock of South America. As was true in the north, 

 any exhaustive comparison must extend further, in this case embracing 

 the prehistoric cultures of Chiriqui, Code, and northern South 

 America, but here again our scope must be limited. 



Eastern Nicaragua 



From south to north, this region was occupied by Chibchan, Mos- 

 quitoan (Miskito), and Ulvan (Sumu) tribes. There is a very strong 

 probability that both the Miskito and Sumu languages are related to 

 the Chibchan stock. The true Chibchan tribes occupied only the south- 

 eastern corner of Nicaragua, the Miskito held the coast, and the Sumu 

 the greater part of the interior. The terrain here passes from rolling 

 hills eastward to the swampy Mosquito Coast, and most of the dense 

 jungle-covered area has not even been explored from the archeological 

 standpoint.^" 



Le Baron gives a plan of a small ceremonial site on the Prinzapolca 

 River consisting of three rude monoliths set up to form a triangle, 



^^ Spinden, 1925, p. 542, disagrees with Lothrop in this regard. 

 *" See Le Baron, 1912, and Spinden, 1925. Conzemius, 1932, also gives some 

 archeological data on this region. 



I 



