MEAD, PERUVIAN MUMMIES 19 
bing. Moulds were often used in making many of the animal heads 
and human figures that adorn these vessels. The decoration was put 
on with paint, and, after firing, the vessels were polished by rubbing 
with a smooth pebble. 
In the absence of an aboriginal written language in Peru and on 
account of the meagreness of the descriptions left by the first Europeans 
who visited the country, it is fortunate for the student of Peruvian archee- 
ology that the potter often represented by the shape of his vessel or in its 
POTTERY VESSEL WITH PAINTED DECORATION 
decoration forms and customs which were familiar to him in his every- 
day life. 
Representations of the human figure are common. Some of these 
show the manner of wearing the poncho and other articles of clothing. 
Some have in the lobe of the ear the large cylindrical ear-ornaments 
which led the Spaniards to nickname these people “ Ore- 
Human 
jones’ — big ears. It would be impracticable, however, to 
5 z y figures 
mention here more than a few of the subjects depicted. On 
one vessel a man pursues and kills a deer with a spear; on another a 
hunter is returning with the body of a deer thrown across his shoul- 
