22 



A STUDY OF CHIRIQUIAN ANTIQUITIES. 



The stems are triangular in section and slope toward the base, lending weight 

 to Dr. Merritt's supposition that some might have been so designed as to become 

 free from the shaft and remain in the wound. The material is a flinty jasper. 



The only specimen in the collection that looks like true flint is given in figure 1. 

 It is lighter in color than the two arrow-points, and different in shape, there 

 being no well-defined stem. It may have been a goldsmith's tool rather than an 

 arrow-point. A similar specimen was figured by L. Simonin ' as coming from 

 the tomb of an ancient Chiriquian goldsmith. Traces of gold were left on its 

 lateral margins, as if it had served as a touchstone. The grave was opened by 

 M. J. Thevenet in 1859, who also found in it a celt similar to figure c (PL II), 

 two polishing stones, etc. These were all said to have been of flint, which is 



probably an error, the possible ex- 

 ception being the one with traces of 

 gold. One of the most interesting 

 stone implements in the Yale collec- 

 tion is a sub-cubical pestle-like ob- 

 ject, polished over its entire surface 

 and showing almost everywhere traces 

 of gold (see fig. 33). 



Spear-points. — The implements that 

 may be classed as spear-points are 

 made of a velvet-black flinty quartz 

 resembling basanite. In workmanship 

 they are not unlike the arrow-points, 

 the differences being chiefly depen- 

 dent on the character of the materials 

 employed and the size of the flakes. 

 The edges also are not so serrated. 

 The stem is insignificant in com- 

 parison with the length of the blade. 

 The inner surface is often chipped 

 at the point and for the length of 

 the stem (figs. 4 and 5). The point 

 is sometimes ground and polished. 

 Celts. — While Chiriquian arrow-points and spear-heads are very few in number, 

 celts have been found in comparatively large quantities. They may be grouped 

 into several well-defined types, for the most part hatchets and chisels. The adze 

 and gouge forms are practically unknown. The same may be said of the grooved 

 celt, there being but one in the United States National Museum and one in the 

 Yale Museum.- 



The same variety and homogeneity that characterize the ceramic art of Chiriqui 

 are also stamped upon the stone art. It is almost wholly the product of a small 

 compact culture area and an uninterrupted culture period. The workmen were 

 limited to only a few varieties of stone, and these were not of a kind to encourage 



Figs. 4, 5. — Spear-points. 2 /s 



La vie souterraine ou les mines et les mineurs, 486, Paris (L. Hachette), 1867. 



