A Survey of Ancient Peruvian Art. 391 



"In addition to female figurines there are many examples of 

 pottery vessels from Ancon, Trujillo, etc., in which a human 

 figure is represented in a fashion that harks back to the archaic, 

 namely with the elbows and knees both flexed and the former 

 directly over the latter. Of course, in the cases of both the 

 figurines and the vessels the qualities peculiar to Peruvian art 

 had already become set. 



"The theoretical considerations that connect the spread of 

 archaic ceramic art with the spread of agriculture are very 

 strong. No one can get away from the fact that maize, beans and 

 squashes constitute four species (Zea mays, Phaseolus vulgaris, 

 Cucurbita maxima, and C. pepo) wherever agriculture is found in 

 America. The Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) had a more 

 restricted use. 



"It seems not unreasonable to suppose that careful research will 

 bring to light more evidence on the occurrence of figurines of 

 early type. These objects may have been neglected in favor of 

 those of greater artistic interest. For instance, Dorsey, in 

 discussing the finds on the Island of La Plata, says : — 



" 'Practically all this pottery was in fragments, only two pieces 

 were found in perfect condition. With the exception of not 

 more than a dozen pieces, all the fragments were parts of small 

 images in the form of human figures. . . . From fragments 

 representing perhaps a thousand images not more than half a 

 dozen pieces were found which bore any trace of paint. . . . 

 All the pottery, with a very few exceptions, is hand made; that 

 is, it was not made in a mould, which was commonly employed 

 on the mainland of Ecuador and throughout a large extent of 

 Peru.'^ 



"Many of the fragments figured by Dorsey are distinctly 

 archaic in treatment. Of course it might be argued that the 

 archaism is absolute rather than relative but a comparison of 

 special features gives ample evidence of transitions from one 

 region to the next." 



To these remarks by Dr. Spinden the writer would like to add 

 a few of his own. 



As has been said, the "archaic type" is stratigraphically the 

 earliest in Middle America. Therefore, if it does occur in South 



^ Dorsey, G. A., 1901, pp. 266-267. 



