46 A STUDY OF CHIRIQUIAN ANTIQUITIES. 



afforded. Between the groups of products belonging to the inferior tribes scattered 

 over the continent from Point Barrow to Terra del Fuego, and those representing 

 the advanced cultures of Central America and Peru, there is a long vista of 

 progress." 



The fictile products of Chiriqui may be divided into a number of well-defined 

 groups. With the exception of certain fugitive pieces, these are bound together 

 by common though sometimes rather slender threads. The pottery as a whole 

 may be looked upon as a more or less consistent unit. There are traces of 

 northern influence and some evidence of contact with the peoples to the south, 

 but these combined were not sufficient to overcome the art-molding forces from 

 within. The latter were strengthened by the solidarity that comes with large 

 numbers dwelling in contiguous communities over a restricted and somewhat 

 isolated area. The abundance and size of the ancient cemeteries (huacals) scat- 

 tered over nearly every part of the province are proof that the region was populous 

 and the period of continuous occupation relatively long. There was time for 

 tradition to make itself felt, for the development of centers where art crystallized 

 about the beliefs and customs of the people. Thanks to the mildness of the 

 climate, the care with which the graves were constructed and the practice of 

 burying with the dead the objects most prized in life, the material for the study 

 of Chiriquian ceramic art is not only most plentiful, but also especially well 

 preserved. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



Holmes classifies Chiriquian pottery under two general heads, each with sub- 

 divisions, as follows : 



a. Unpainted ware : 



1. Terra cotta or biscuit group. 



2. Black incised group. 



b. Painted ware : 



1. Scarified group. 



2. Handled group. 



3. Tripod group. 



4. Maroon group. 



5. Red line group. 



6. White line group. 



7. Lost color group. 



8. Alligator group. 



9. Polychrome group. 



It is admitted that " the characters upon which the classification is based are 

 somewhat heterogeneous and include material, color, shape, finish, ornamentation, 

 method of manufacture, and evidences of use. No single character and no one 

 group of characters can be relied upon to distinguish the different groups. We 

 must depend, therefore, upon an assemblage of characters or upon one character 

 in one place and another in another place." The foregoing classification was used 

 " mainly as a means of facilitating description." 



