394 TJie Smithso7iia7t Institution 



nitely represented by carvings and paintings, often in the 

 form of masks ; among the Pueblo people and the advanced 

 tribes of Mexico and Peru the deities were considered an- 

 thropomorphic or zoomorphic at will, and were sometimes 

 represented by idols of human form, either normal or mon- 

 strous, symbolizing the personages of the barbaric pantheon. 

 The more important symbols are intrusted to shamans or 

 priests, who become sacred through association, and are 

 kept in sacred places, sometimes developed into temples ; 

 among many tribes the priesthood is an important and even 

 dominant class. The simpler rights appear in every-day 

 conduct; higher ceremonials are oblations in the presence of 

 the fetiches, and these culminate in sacrifice of property, or 

 of animal and even human life. The ordinary ceremonial is 

 individual, but among the tribes investigated there are elab- 

 orate collective ceremonials usually extending over several 

 days, and occurring several times annually. In general, the 

 Indians are profoundly devout believers, whose faith controls 

 action in greater degree than is realized in higher culture. 



Under the terms of law the collections made by the bureau 

 are transferred to the United States National Museum ; and 

 it has been found convenient and profitable to maintain inti- 

 mate relations with that branch of the Institution and con- 

 stantly to base the laboratory researches on the anthropologi- 

 cal material from all sources stored in the museum. Exten- 

 sive collections have been made directly for the enrichment 

 of the museum as an assemblage of objective material re- 

 lating to the American Indians. The collections made by 

 Director Powell while in charge of the Rocky Mountain 

 Survey are particularly noteworthy ; they comprise imple- 

 ments and weapons, costumery, gaming devices, symbolic 

 and ceremonial objects, and are especially rich in native veg- 

 etal food-substances ; they may be considered to form the 



