74 



ANC'IKNT ART O 



IK CKIKII^I 



istiit foatures of the creature — the siiiiiDU.s ImxI}', the strong jaws, the 

 upturned snout, the feet, and the scales — are forcibly expressed. It 

 is not to be assumed that these examples represent the best delineati ve 

 skill of the Chiriquian artist. The native painter must have exe- 

 cuted very mi;ch suiaerior work ui^ou the more usual delineating sur- 

 faces, such as bark and skins. The examples here shown have already 

 experienced decided changes through the constraints of the ceramic 

 art, but are the most graphic delineations preserved to us. They 

 are free hand products, executed by mere decorators, perhaps by 

 women, who were servile copyists of the forms employed by those 

 skilled in sacred art. 



A third illustration from the same group of ware, gi^'en in Fig. :4olt, 

 shows, in some respects, a higher degree of convention. The scales 

 are here represented by triangular dentals, which occupy the entire 



Fig. 261. Style of convention in tlie alligator group of ware. 



length of the back. These dentals are filled with the round 

 that stand singly in the yn-eceding cases. 



dots 



