'^"No^^Tlf''^" ^^ LIMON TOMB SITE, PANAMA — STIRLING 253 



pots in the tomb. Had they been broken, it is Hkely the looters 

 would have thrown them away. It is om^ impression that this is an 

 early ware, possibly the earliest t3^pe of tomb ware from Panama. 



An apparently related type is found in Chiriqui. This type was 

 first described by Holmes (1888, p. 87). In his classification of 

 Chiriqui wares he describes it as the scarified group. Holmes states: 



This group is represented by about forty specimens and is worthy of especial 

 attention. It comes from the graves of two localities, one near C. E. Taylor's 

 hacienda, north of David, on the slopes of Mount Chiriqui, and the other at 

 Alanje, southwest of David. As a variety of ware it stands so entirely alone 

 that had it arrived unlabeled no one would have recognized its affinities with 

 Chiriquian art. It is rather inferior in material, grace of form, and surface 

 finish, and the decoration appears to belong to a lower grade of culture than that 

 of the other groups. 



Holmes speculates that it is a degenerate type, and therefore late. 

 He says further (ibid., pp. 88-89): 



Nearly all of the vessels are tripods, but a few have rounded or flat bottoms and 

 a few are supplied with annular stands. The walls are thick and the shapes are 

 uncouth or clumsy. The paste is coarse, poorly baked, and friable; near the surface 

 it is a warm reddish or yellowish gray; within the mass it is a dark gray. . . . 

 These vessels are embellished by painting, incising, or scarifying and by modeling 

 in reUef. Color was not employed in the production of designs, but a dark Indian 

 red pigment was daubed over that part of the surface not occupied by incised 

 ornament. Little or no slip was used and the rude geometric patterns were 

 executed with pointed tools in a very haphazard manner. 



In general Holmes' description fits the El Limon material, but there 

 are a number of differences. His material has no vase forms, and 

 tripod supports are lacking in the El Limon specimens as weU as the 

 application of red paint. The tripod supports are evidently solid. 

 However, the scarified designs are similar, as are the flat and rounded 

 bottoms. Scarified material is shown in Holmes' illustrations (figs. 

 118 to 127). His figure 122 in particular resembles the material 

 from El Limdn. 



More recently, Wolfgang Haberland (1960) has published another 

 find of ceramics closely similar to the Holmes material, from Aguas 

 Buenas in Costa Rica, just across the border from Panama. 



At Mojara in Herrera Province, we found in our excavations a 

 somewhat similar vase, associated with polychrome ware. This is a 

 much more handsome piece and is made of harder, fine-textured ware. 

 The encircling element consists of two notched fiUet bands, the lower 

 of which turns downward at each side to the base of the vessel. At 

 this point on each side is a projecting conventionalized animal head 

 from which two more notched fillets run downward, parallel with the 

 other two. 



Under the outflaring rim is a triple row of heavy punctate dots. 

 Between these and the encircling fillets is a zone of highly polished 



