86 A STUDY OF CIIIRIQUIAN ANTIQUITIES. 



An unusual type of tripod is reproduced in figure d. The paste and exterior 

 are those of the armadillo ware, but the shape is unique. The long neck is 

 cone-shaped and the plain handles are angular. It is placed here because of the 

 fish supports. Only the pectorals and the caudal fin remain. The eyes are omitted, 

 the mouth being the feature emphasized. The longitudinally incised fillets about 

 the mouth opening are in parallel planes, so far apart that the mouth has four 

 corners instead of two. The teeth are indicated by incised parallel lines. It will 

 be noted that one foot is immediately below the handle, an exception to the 

 rule, which is that one leg divides the space between the handles about equally 

 on one side, while the other two legs are attached near the handles on the opposite 

 side. Rarely is there a deviation from this symmetrical arrangement of handles 

 and supports, as will become evident from a study of the illustrations. There is 

 another vase in the collection that is even more like the tripods of the armadillo 

 ware as regards paste and form, but it has handles and the legs are long. The 

 eyes reappear in figure e, so does the dorsal fin, which is slightly forward of the 

 eyes. The mouth is an incised fillet. 



There seem to be certain general rules governing the use of life forms as tripod 

 supports. One is that all three should represent one and the same animal. 

 Figure / shows one of the very few exceptions that prove this rule. Here one 

 leg represents the fish, while the other two are highly realistic alligator forms. 

 The alligator nostrils, eyes and ears are conspicuous. The osseous dorsal plates 

 are represented by annular indentations and there are five cone-shaped prominences 

 along the vertebral column. The saurian attitude of the limbs is well rendered. 

 The second illustration brings the mouth and teeth of the alligator, as well as of 

 the fish, into view. The nose of both alligators is pressed against the rim of the 

 vase, while that of the fish falls considerably short of the same. Spots of red 

 paint on the legs and on the interior of the vase have been spread in a way 

 characteristic of this group, viz., by rubbing. The outer surface of the bowl is 

 so blackened by smoke and soot as to make it impossible to determine whether 

 it was flecked or given a uniform coat of paint. The two alligator supports are 

 slit ventrally and supplied with movable balls of clay. The fish support is slit 

 both ventrally and dorsally and also supplied with a ball of burnt clay. 



From his study of Chiriquian pottery, Holmes concludes that " there is a general 

 consistency in the use of life forms. " He says : " The fish and other creatures 

 used, although variously conceived and treated, are never confused. When the 

 fish is employed, no features suggesting other animals appear and when the heads 

 of other creatures occupy the upper extremity of the leg all the details refer to 

 these creatures with uniform consistency." 



There are some noteworthy exceptions to this rule in the Yale collection, as 

 the accompanying illustrations will show. The legs seen in figure 142 embody 

 a complete fusion of the fish and the human form, the same pair of eyes answering 

 equally well for each. The prominent fish mouth serves as a head-dress for the 

 human figure. The hands rest on the lower part of the chest. The incised pattern 

 below stands for a garment or wrapping. They may be referred equally well to 

 the fish, as the fishlike legs of certain other tripods are incised in a somewhat 

 similar manner. The likeness of this tripod bowl to vessels of the handled group 



