4 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 193 



alliances of subchiefs under the control of more powerful "great 

 chiefs" such as Parita, Nata, Urraca, and Escoria. Social classes are 

 indicated by the presence of chiefs and slaves. Villages were fortified 

 with stockades and were relatively small compared to the great urban 

 concentrations in Mexico and Peru. Thus, Nata's "capital," one of 

 the largest settlements in the area, was estimated by Espinosa to have 

 a population of only 1,500 persons (Lothrop, 1937, p. 14). The houses 

 of Nata were circular with cane walls and thatched conical roofs. 

 Subsistence, based on a combination of hunting, fishing, and the 

 cultivation of maize, peppers, sweet manioc, sweetpotatoes, yucca, 

 calabashes and gourds (Lothrop, 1937, p. 16), was apparently much 

 like that of today with the exception of post-Conquest introduced 

 crops. Although it is not clear whether cotton was grown or imported, 

 it was utilized for ceremonial robes and armor. Dress was minimal 

 for other than religious or warlike activities; body tattooing fulfilled 

 the decorative function of clothing, and gold, stone, and shell jewelry 

 was worn by the wealthier classes. In hunting, considerable use was 

 made of nets, snares, traps, and pits, and game drives were organized 

 with dogs and grass fires. Presumably the large animals such as 

 deer were dispatched with spears. Lothrop does not mention the use 

 of the bow and arrow specifically except for the killing of birds, which 

 were also taken by noose and net. Fish were caught by net and hook and 

 line, and this reliance on nets for both game and fish may help explain the 

 paucity of stone or bone points, at least in the Parita sites. Weapons 

 utilized for fighting included wooden clubs, darts, and long spears or 

 pikes although, again, these were not fitted with stone blades or 

 points but were made of chontal, a hardwood which can be sharpened 

 to a tough edge or point. Cotton armor was reported for the warriors 

 of Coiba Island off the coast of southern Veraguas. One gains the 

 impression that warfare, carried out for the purposes of acquiring 

 prestige, territory, and, probably, slaves, was a frequent and important 

 activity. Funerary practices reported by the Spaniards included 

 the desiccation of the bodies of nobles over fire, and the burial of 

 nobles together with their wives and servants. It is not clear from 

 Oviedo's narrative (as given by Lothrop, 1937, pp. 46-47) whether 

 fire was involved in the latter ceremony. The account does state, 

 however, that the pit with the dead and the stupefied retainers was 

 filled with earth, faggots, and timbers so that the women quickly 

 smothered to death. Evidence of burning connected with burials 

 containing Azuero and Code design style polychrome vessels is fairly 

 common in the Parita sites herein discussed. The bodies of the 

 common people and slaves, according to the Spaniards, were taken to 

 deserted areas and abandoned. 



