Ladd] PARITA AND SANTA MARIA ARCHEOLOGY, PANAMA 185 



DELGADO (HE-8) SITE 

 SITE DESCRIPTION 



He-8, the Delgado site, is located on the land of Juan Delgado on 

 the north bank of the Parita River near the Parita highway bridge, a 

 few kilometers from the town of Parita. At this point in the river's 

 course small hills abut the rather narrow river lowlands and old 

 terraces. Sherds were revealed by the highway cut through these 

 hills, and graves uncovered by miscellaneous digging suggested the 

 area as a site in 1948. Excavations consisting of two test p'ts were 

 conducted in March and April of 1952 by Dr. Willey, Dr. McGimsey, 

 and Mr. East. 



Pit 1, a 3-meter square cut, was put down on the lower west flank of 

 a small rise about 10 meters west of the Delgado house and 120 meters 

 east of the highway. The pit was excavated through layers of gray 

 soil mixed with shell, in 10-cm. levels to a depth of 130 cms. and pro- 

 duced 3,301 sherds, almost all of which were of the Delgado Red type. 

 The 114 polychrome sherds from this pit were classified in 1954 as 

 El Hatillo. The sample remaining for examination reveals them to 

 be primarily Macaracus in type although there was a scattering of 

 Parita varieties (Yam pi and Ortiga). By far the greater proportion 

 of the sherds was concentrated in the first 50 cms. 



Pit 2, another 3-meter square cut, located on the flat of the second 

 river terrace about 30 meters west of Pit 1, produced about twice as 

 many sherds (6,784) as Pit 1, thus suggesting that the main habitation 

 area lay along the river terrace rather than on the hills behind it. As 

 was the case with Pit 1, the sherds were almost entirely either Delgado 

 Red or Azuero group polychromes, and most of these were concen- 

 trated in the uppermost 40 cms. in a gray soil mixed with oyster and 

 small clamshells. No Code Polychrome sherds were classified for 

 either pit. A few sherds of red paste with a heavy white to cream shp, 

 probably of the same type as those recovered in Mound III at He-4, 

 were found. 



CERAMIC REMAINS 



DELGADO RED 



This type, the characteristic red ware at the Delgado site, was 

 apparently absent at the Girdn site. However, its similarity to 

 Giron Red should be noted. For comments on the type at He-4, see 

 the Red-buff section of the He-4 typology. 



Paste.- — Color of paste ranges from dark orange to fight orange 

 (Maerz and Paul colors, "persimmon," plate 6, E-12, to "agate," 

 H-12, and "cognac," plate 4, J-11) and sometimes is fired reddish 

 throughout. Often there is a lighter core present. Temper is of 



