REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECR1<:TARV. 93 



tliis vast and practically miworked material. One room with 14 cases is devoted to 

 the Zapotecs. lu the whole collection the relics of 23 ancient civilizations were 

 shown. Mr. Troncoso, director of the National Museum of Mexico, is a host in him- 

 self and has an efficient statt" of collaborators. 



There were a number of small collections from Cuba, San Domingo, the latter con- 

 sisting of human remains, weapons, idols, pottery, etc., of the aborigines, and histor- 

 ical relics of the age of the discovery, and from Bolivia, Argentine Republic, Brazil, 

 Chile, Honduras, Salvador, and Paraguay. 



The bulk of the numbers from Guatemala were of pottery. There were many 

 finely carved stone images, an oval dish of polished quartz of bluish tint, and an 

 exquisitely carved l)ead of jade. There was also a curious globular ])ottery whistle 

 or lluto, somewhat like an ocarina, with four holes, giving five tones, running from (" 

 to F sharji, and a jiottery trumpet, with four pipes blown from one mouthpiece. I 

 do not know who is to be held responsible for the exhibition of an Egyptian scarab 

 and a bronze shtihti as American relics. This collection contains three rare and 

 beautiful vases ornamented with Quiche Maya hieroglyphics. Dr. Briuton believes 

 that these are the only Quiche Maya inscriptions yet discovered. 



Nicaragua displayed a small collection of pottery in red outlined with black, stone 

 imi)lements, mde and polished, and a few pieces of jade and gold work. 



Costa Rica occupied two halls with a tine collection, mostly of pottery and stone 

 carvings, contained in 40 cases. The walls were covered with paintings of the exca- 

 vations, maps, and photographs. This collection was shown at Chicago. The inter- 

 esting gold objects exhibited Ijy Mr. Alfaro in Washington in 1891 were displayed iu 

 one case, and two other cases held jade carvings. The pottery resembles that of 

 Nicaragua, aud consists of burial jars, cups, ^ases, spoons, cooking pots, etc. The 

 stone carvings are particularly good ; they are priuciijally of friable, volcanic rock. 

 The ornamented metates, skillfully worked stools with their seats upheld by human 

 figures ; the magnificent sacrificial stone, 6 feet long aud 25 inches wide, finely 

 sculptured at the head aud along the margins and edges, are especially noteworthy, 

 while the series of stone masks, standing and sitting figures, animal and human 

 heads, give an enlarged idea of the progress of the sculptor's art iu ancient Costa 

 Rica. 



Seventy-two pounds of wrought-gold objects, 4.52 in numl)er, and 383 objects of 

 copper, invested Colombia's room with a peculiar interest. These consisted of 

 bowls, canteens with full-lengtli human figures, necklaces, animal aud human 

 forms, etc. There also was much jiottery of a superior order from the Quimbayas, 

 Chibchis, Chiri<iuis, the Department of Tolma aud Antigua; a fine series of ])hoto- 

 graphs was also displayed. There was a small ethnological collection from the 

 Cunas and Guahibos. This collection was well installed and catalogued liy Mr. 

 Ernest Restrepo, aud was a great credit to the Republic of Colombia. 



Of the 11 cases from Ecuador 10 were of the lustrous, dark, and usually indurated 

 potter}-, which is very interesting from its curious forms, among which occur long, 

 narrow, amphora-like jars with lugs, tazzas sitting on a high, jjerforated foot, 

 exactly counterfeiting Korean mortuary pottery, and square jars of Chinese form, 

 giving this collection a strange phase. There was one case of copper axes, bored 

 stone axes, star club heads, labrets, and charms of worked stone. It is rather 

 remarkable if articles which are evidently separators for ])ottery are found in 

 ancient excavations in Ecuador. 



Peru exhibited a large number of pottery bottles of red and black ware in human 

 and animal forms from the huacas of the Ynncas. Four of tiiese are in the form of 

 human heads, in which the no.se ]srepreseute<l as having l)een eaten away, evidently 

 by some disease which a Si)anish physician diagnoses as lupus. Dr. Brinton 

 ex])resses the opinion that the disease characterized is syphilis. The Vunca jiot- 

 tery also shows trace of S]>anish iutluenci'. There were some good si)ecimeus of 

 gold working, textiles ami wood carving. 



