Ladd] PARITA AND SANTA MARIA ARCHEOLOGY, PANAMA 183 



STONE ARTIFACTS 



Here, as at the other sites, the stone inventory is a relatively simple 

 one which can be broken down into metate fragments, manos, celts, 

 and two flakes of jasper or chert which may have served as scrapers 

 or drills. 



Metates. — These and the manos treated below were, for the most 

 part, made from a porous volcanic stone tentatively identified as 

 rhyolite. The edge fragments all reveal a rounded edge with a 

 flattened, slightly concave "upper" surface and a slightly convex 

 lower surface. The fragments are relatively thin, ranging from 1.5-3 

 cms. in maximum thickness. One fragment of a cylindrical leg was 

 recovered. Many of these fragments were found on the surface and 

 the remainder are largely limited to the upper levels of the excavations. 



Manos. — A number of fragments were recovered, all from the upper 

 levels of Pit 2 and all of the long cylindrical variety with one side 

 worn flat, except for a single example in which the two opposing sides 

 are both worn flat, one in a step formation (pi. 21, a). 



Celts. — All made of a dark igneous basaltic rock, these are of two 

 varieties. In neither group are there any fragments present with 

 clear or definite cutting edges, and all may have been used as hammers 

 or picks rather than celts. In the first group, the celts are markedly 

 petaloid in outline and are unpolished and roughly chipped with a 

 thick triangular or diamond cross section (pi. 21, b, c). A typical 

 specimen measures 8 X6X3.5 cms. ; a few others are longer and slimmer. 



The second group (pi. 21, d, e), which may or may not have been 

 celts, exhibits some polished areas, but otherwise is so fragmented 

 that it is impossible to ascertain the original proportions or even shape. 



Flakes. — Two fairly large red jasper chips were recovered (pi. 

 21,/, g) which may have been intended as scrapers or driUs. Neither 

 shows any clear signs of retouching or of use. 



WORKED BONE AND SHELL 



No worked shell occurred at the site, but two fragments of cut bone 

 tubes (pi. 19, 6, c) were recovered at a depth of 140-150 cms. in Pit 1. 

 One of these was 5 cms. long and un worked except for the cutting at 

 each end. The other, an end fragment of a longer tube, 2 cms. in 

 maximum diameter and 7 cms. long, had three rather crudely cut 

 shallow grooves near the finished end. 



SUMMARY 



The Gir6n site, certainly a village or occupied site rather than a 

 cemetery, situated near broad alluvial plains and 7 air miles from the 

 delta, provided a good location for a subsistence pattern combining 

 both agriculture and shellfish. Both are indicated in the cultural 



