COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 39 



instances of metal. A prominent feature in it is the number of fine 

 stones, green or bluish, belonging to various varieties of jade and jas 

 per. They bear frequently a high polish and have been worked up 

 into objects of ornament. 



Another collection is that of Senor Julio de Arellano, which was 

 excavated principally from the slopes of the volcano Yrazu and from 

 Nicaragua. It includes ornaments in copper, numerous figures in stone 

 representing men and animals, corn mills, and a line of vases and 

 utensils in clay, several of them handsomely colored or presenting 

 designs in relief. 



Over 1,000 relics which were obtained in 1891 in exploring the natwe 

 cemetery of Guayabo, situated on the slope of the volcano, form a con 

 spicuous part of the collection from Costa Rica, and one highly illus 

 trative of the industry of its earlier inhabitants. 



Besides the archaeological collections there are in this section a great 

 many ethnographic specimens obtained from the tribes which still exist 

 scattered throughout the northern and southern portions of the Repub- 

 lic in small settlements. These include bows and arrows, blowpipes, 

 woven material, feather work, collars made of teeth, nets, hammocks, 

 fishing lines, drums, etc. 



There are displayed by means of photographs and oil paintings rep 

 resentations of individuals of the native tribes, their present habita 

 tions, and the ancient sepulcher opened and explored by Mr. Anastasio 

 Alfaro, whose intelligent activity has thrown so much light on the pre- 

 columbian history of this part of Central America. 



Prominent among the objects represented is a series of metates of 

 unusual size and elaborate workmanship. They are of a fine gray stone, 

 resting upon feet of the same material, and are elaborately decorated 

 with human and animal heads in relief along the sides. 



One of these is of such size and bears such an amount of decora 

 tion as to seem to unfit it for a domestic utensil, and it has been called 

 a sacrificial stone. A comparison, however, with a number of similar 

 objects would seem to leave little doubt that its purpose was the hum 

 bler and more peaceful one of forming a surface for the grinding of 

 corn on a large scale. 



Peculiar interest attaches to the archaeology and ethnography of 

 Costa Rica on account of its situation on the only highway of migra 

 tion between South and North America. The relations of its native 

 population at the time of the Conquest have offered problems of much 

 obscurity, which can not be said to have been completely solved up to 

 the present time. An admiral resume of our existing knowledge of this 

 subject was prepared by Seuor de Peralta, the president of the commis 

 sion from Costa Rica to the Exposition in Madrid, and was incorporated 

 in the catalogue of that department. It condenses so much information 

 not easily accessible into such clear outlines that the following extract 

 from it is inserted: 



