444 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 875 



has pointed out that in onr stiidies of de- 

 velopment of art the psychological processes 

 of the artist are the essentials for a clear 

 understanding of the history of art, and I 

 thinly this point of view must be kept in mind 

 constantly if we desire to understand the his- 

 tory of art development. 



For this reason it seems to me that the 

 purely classificatory method, as followed by 

 Dr. MacCurdy as well as by previous students, 

 is not likely to give us the desired clue. 

 Neither can it be found in ethnological in- 

 quiry and the most copious explanatory notes, 

 which must always be open to the suspicion of 

 having been read into the designs by the na- 

 tives. 



We have to bring before our minds more 

 clearly the procedure of the native artist, the 

 conditions under which he works and the ex- 

 tent of his originality. The term conven- 

 tionalization, which we so readily employ, 

 should be taken in a stricter sense, and we 

 must understand what happens in the mind 

 of the artist — including under this term un- 

 conscious processes — who either conventional- 

 izes a realistic representation or develops a 

 realistic form out of a geometrical form. 

 Thus the problem presents itself of discover- 

 ing the fundamental art forms that exert a 

 domineering influence over the artist. 



From this point of view, it seems to my 

 mind that the first element to be determined 

 is what is stable in each art form. Dr. 

 MacCurdy does this in his careful classifica- 

 tion of the material; and the association be- 

 tween lack of painting and presence of at- 

 tached decorative elements modeled in the 

 round, — a conclusion which I think has quite 

 a general validity; — the presence of painting 

 and lack of relief decoration; and other more 

 detailed characteristics of certain forms, like 

 the presence of the rim in vessels with neck 

 decoration are brought out clearly. 



The next step in the discussion of the ware 

 with attached ornaments, however, does not 

 seem to me well taken. Dr. MacCurdy points 

 out the great frequency of armadillo-like 

 forms, and the peculiar character of carapace, 



foot, eye and tail ornaments. From these he 

 concludes, if I understand him rightly, that the 

 life motive is older than the elements just de- 

 scribed, which are derived from it. The re- 

 lationship of the ware with relief decoration 

 to analogous types of neighboring districts 

 does not seem to me to favor this view. It is 

 the essential characteristic of all this ware, 

 that the decorative elements consist of small 

 nodes or fillets which are applied to the sur- 

 face of the vessel or to some of its parts, like 

 feet, neck, shoulder or handle; and which are 

 decorated by a series of short parallel impres- 

 sions. An oval node with single medial lines 

 is often used to indicate an eye; a similar 

 nodule with a number of parallel lines indi- 

 cates the foot, a series of parallel, short fillets 

 with parallel short crosslines, are applied to 

 the bodies of animal forms, but also to the 

 bodies of vases. Hartman' describes analo- 

 gous technical motives from Chircot and 

 Orosi in Costa Eica (for instance PL 22, Fig. 

 2 ; PI. 27, Fig. 2 ; PL 37, Figs. 5, 6 ; PL 39, Fig. 

 1 ; PL 51, Fig. 8 ; PL 64, Fig. 7) which in tech- 

 nical character are so much like the Chiriqui 

 specimens that we can hardly doubt that they 

 are derived from the same device. It might 

 seem that this method of decoration is so easily 

 discovered that little weight can be attached 

 to it. Its extended use in South and Central 

 America and in the West Indies^ is, however, 

 quite characteristic of that area. In North 

 America it is not common, except in the Gulf 

 region.' In contrast with its frequency in the 

 highly developed pottery of Central America 

 its almost complete absence may be noted in 

 Africa, where highly decorated pottery forms 

 are by no means absent, and where lids with 

 animal figures might seem to suggest readily 



' C V. Hartman, ' ' Areheologieal Eesearches in 

 Costa Eiea, " Stockholm, 1901. 



■ See, for instance, W. J. Pewkes, ' ' The Aborig- 

 ines of Poito Eico, ' ' 25th Annual Eep. Bur. of 

 Amer. Ethnology, Fig. 36, p. 185; PI. 76, Fig. c; 

 PI. 78; PI. 79. 



' G. P. Thruston, ' ' The Antiquities of Tennes- 

 see," p. 146; PI. 7; W. H. Holmes, "Aboriginal 

 Pottery of the Eastern United States ' ' ; for refer- 

 ences see index under "fillets" and "nodes." 



