Ladd] PARITA AND SANTA MARIA ARCHEOLOGY, PANAMA 225 



expansion to the east at Venado Beach, and, on the basis of Giron 

 type, Interior Banded variety finds, possibly as far as the Gulf of 

 San Miguel and the Pearl Islands. To the west it extends as far as 

 the Parita River, and possibly into Veraguas. The following two 

 phases, on the other hand, have a more westerly distribution: Late 

 Code Phase vessels occur sporadically as far west as Chiriqui and its 

 islands and, in quantity, in Veraguas graves; and Herrera Phase 

 ceramics are limited to the Parita River region with occasional ex- 

 amples farther west. 



In view of the foregoing, it seems apparent that Veraguas loses some 

 of its identity in these later phases and that the Parita River region, 

 possibly the whole northern base of the Azuero Peninsula, gains in 

 distinctness from the Code region. Nevertheless, I believe these 

 shifts are too transitory to warrant either the creation of a new Parita 

 region or the inclusion of Veraguas within the Code region. Further 

 excavation may suggest modification of the existing breakdown, 

 especially along the lines of a consolidation of parts of Veraguas with 

 Parita as distinct from Code. At the present time, however, I believe 

 that Parita is best represented as part of the Code region, recognizing 

 its differences in the later phases. 



