14 ANCIENT ART OK THK PKOVINCE OK CHIKIVUI. 



the South American continent. The islands of the coast furnish 

 some fragmentary monuments and relics, and there is no doulit that 

 a vast quantity of material yet remains within the province to reward 

 the diligent search of future exijlorers. 



LITERATURE. 



The antiquarian literature of the province is extremely meager, 

 being confined to brief sketches made hy transient visitors or based 

 for the most part upon the testimony of gold hunters and government 

 explorers, who took but little note of the unpretentious relics of past 

 ages. As there are few striking monuments, the attention of archae- 

 ologists was not called to the history of primeval man in this region, 

 and until recently the isthmus was supposed to have remained prac- 

 tically unoccupied by that group of cultured nations whose works in 

 Peru and in Mexico excite the wonder of the world. But, little by 

 little, it has been discovered that at some period of the past the 

 province was thickly populated, and by races possessed of no mean 

 culture. 



The most important couti-ibutions to tlie literature of this region, so 

 far as they have come to my knowledge, are the following: A paper 

 by Mr. Merritt, published by the American Ethnological Society;' a 

 paper by Bollaert. published by the same society, and also a volume 

 issued in London;^ a valuable pamphlet, with photogi'aphic illustra- 

 tions, by M. De Zeltner, French consul to Pan;inia in IsijO;' a short 

 paper by Mr. A. L. Pinart, published in the Bulletin de la Society de 

 Geographic (Paris, 1885, p. 433), in which he gives valuable infor- 

 mation in regard to the peoples, ancient and modern; and casual 

 notes by a number of other writers, some of which will be referred 

 to in the following pages. A pretty full list of aiithorities is given 

 by Mr. H. H. Bancroft in his Native Races. Vol. V. p. Ki. 



One of the most important additions to our knowledge of the prov- 

 ince and its archseologic treasures is furnished in the manuscript notes 

 of Mr. J. A. McNiel. who made the greater part of the collection 

 now deposited in the National Museum. This explorer has person- 

 ally supervised the examination of many thousands of graves and 

 has forwarded the bulk of his collections to the United States. His 

 explorations have occupied a number of years, during which time he 

 has undergone much privation and displayed great enthusiasm in 

 pursuing the rather thorny pathways of scientific research. In the 

 preparation of this paper his notes have been used as freely as their 

 rather disconnected character warranted, and since Mr. McNiel's re- 

 turn to the United States, in July, 1886, I have been favored with a 



'J. King Merritt: "Report i>ii the liuaials or ancient gi-aveyards of Chiriqui." 

 Bulletin of the American Etliin.l..-i<:il Society. 1860. 



-Bollaert: Antiquarian Kpscjh Ins in New Granada. London. ISOO. 



^A. De Zeltner: Notes sur les se|nilturcs indiennes du departenieiit de ( 'liiri((ui. 



