98 ON THE AGE OF THE ANDEAN MEDAL. 



of the medal, however, is later than that of Pizarro and 

 Columbus, because there are to be seen the ornaments 

 characteristic of the subsequent period, commencing with 

 the advent of the Spaniards. The ancient Peruvians had 

 no flower-like ornaments of the form visible on the An- 

 dean medal. This form is characteristic of the work of the 

 Spaniards in America, in Peru, in the eastern part of South 

 America, etc., and of those of the aborigines whose works 

 were influenced by the instruction and direction of the 

 Spaniards. Compare the calabashes of the Rio Amazonas, 

 of Argentinia, of Peru, and elsewhere. I know no ancient 

 work of Peruvians, in silver or in any other materials, on 

 which are to be found the bow-like ornaments so numer- 

 ous on the medal. But I do find the same in a modern 

 silver lamp of the high plateau of Bolivia, worked per- 

 haps in Sicasica, on a modern trumpet from Peru, of 

 wood, with silver rings and the inscription "Soy de me 

 doeno de Sirnon Ynostrosa de 1819", on vases of clay fab- 

 ricated during the last centuries in Ecuador, on the mod- 

 ern silver works of the Araucanians, and on a fine silver 

 needle from Peru originating in the times following the 

 conquest. I send you sketches of the silver needle from 

 Peru (1) of the ornamentation of Araucanian silver works 

 (2) and of the ornaments on the modern trumpet (3). 

 I hope that you incline toward my opinion, that the "An- 

 dean medal," though old, is not older than the conquest 

 by the Spaniards, and that it originated in culture of a 

 European character, European ornamental art, etc., in- 

 troduced by them. However that maybe, the medal is 

 interesting in every way ; it shows that the custom of 

 mummifying the dead and also the custom of inserting 

 pieces of metal between the lips may have been contin- 

 ued long after the conquest, against the wishes of the 

 representatives of the church." 



