EAUi ROCK-SCULPTUHES IN CHIEIQUI. 69 



coui'se could not be maintained by the small crafts which so rude a civiliza- 

 tion could send across the wide Atlantic Ocean; that a land communication 

 was absoliitelj' necessary to ensure such an intercoui'se ; that it could not 

 have been carried on by way of Asia without leaving numerous traces 

 behind ; that no such traces have been found ; and that, consequently, it 

 must have taken place when the Island of Atlantis — in the hands of modern ■ 

 science no longer an Egyptian myth — was so intimately connecting Europe 

 and America ; that the woods, which then covered Europe, were identical 

 in character with those still existing in the southern parts of North America. 

 But before science can concede conclusions of these, or similar, speculations, 

 we want more facts, which, it is hoped, may be forthcoming now that it has 

 been shown what great interest attaches to them."* 



Leaving aside Dr. Seemann's far-reaching speculations, I must confess 

 that I cannot share his enthusiasm in the matter of the Chiriqui rock-sculp- 

 ture described by him. Being in possession of Mr. Bollaert's work which 

 contains Dr. Seemann's representation of the piedra plntal, I was enabled 

 to compare the sculptures on the latter with those figured by Messrs. Tate 

 and Simpson. That there is a general resemblance between the Northum- 

 brian and Scottish and the Chiriqui sculptures cannot be denied ; but I can 

 discover no figures on the piedra inntal which ai'e identical in shape with 

 European lapidarian sculptures, excepting concentric circles and a few 

 carvings resembling wheels with four spokes. Simple devices like these, 

 when found in different countries, are no proof of the ethnic affinity of 

 those who executed them, but may rather be considered as the result of 

 independent invention. It requires a far greater analogy in details to 

 establish an absolute identity. 



However, it would be interesting to know the character of other Chiri- 

 qui rock-sculptures, which, according to Dr. Seemann, are quite frequent 

 in that district. 



* Pirn and Seemann : Dottings on the Roadside, in Panama, Nicaragua, and Mosquito ; London, 

 1869, p. 27, etc. 



