216 A STUDY OF CHIRIQUIAN ANTIQUITIES. 



of Philadelphia was presumably the alligator-god. It is described as a " Human 

 figure with head of a monster ; the mouth open and horns projecting from the 

 end of the nostrils ; the head surmounted by a sort of crown, projections from 

 which on either side form an ornamental framework around the whole figure." 

 The nine specimens were a part of the famous Bugavita treasure. 



Were the evidence furnished by the gold figurines in question not sufficient to 

 establish the existence of an alligator-god in ancient Chiriquian mythology, the 

 pedigree of this deity could still be based on the remarkable painting in the 

 chalice reproduced in Plate I. 



As a rule, metal figurines of man, monkey and bird are so constructed as to 

 present the front or ventral surface to view ; while the reverse is true of quadrupeds, 

 reptiles, fishes, crustaceans, etc., the back or dorsal view being the one exposed. 

 This rule is so nearly universal (I recall but one exception, fig. 359, and this 

 may be an importation from Colombia) that it is often helpful in determining the 

 nature of figurines with mixed attributes. A specimen illustrated by Dr. Max 

 Uhle 1 and belonging to the National Museum of Costa Rica furnishes a case in 

 point. Its human attributes are almost entirely wanting but for the fact that it 

 is intended to be seen from the front or ventral surface ; the only other likeness 

 to man is in the region of the neck, shoulders and chest. On the other hand, 

 the alligator attributes are everywhere emphasized. The long tail is brought 

 forward in a median line along the belly, where it can be seen. The hindlegs 

 are brought forward in order to make room for two conventionalized alligator 

 heads, one attached to each hip. The head of the figure is supplied with sigmoid 

 scrolls of wire for ears and is surmounted by an elaborate head-dress in a vertical, 

 transverse plane. The upper margin of this head-gear is serrated to represent 

 the dermal markings of the alligator, while at each side is a stylistic alligator 

 head with all its most characteristic features, even to the triangular scale-group 

 symbols on the back of the head and neck. The hands or forefeet, as the case 

 may be, are extended outward and upward till they touch the two decorative 

 heads that form a part of the crown of this alligator-god. 



Uhle does not seem to have understood the true meaning of this figure. He 

 described it as half man and half beast to be sure, but mistook the decorative 

 and symbolic alligator heads attached to the hips for the lower extremities, which 

 he thought ended in snake-like heads. The hindlegs proper, which had been 

 shifted forward, he thought might be " a third and fourth or a fifth and sixth leg." 

 He described the head-ornament as a two-headed snake. 



There was not only an alligator-god but also a crab-god. The one shown in 

 Plate XL VIII (fig. h) is an alloy of gold and copper, with a very thin surface 

 wash of gold that has disappeared from the more exposed portions. The specimen, 

 which is a single casting, is a most ingenious fusion of man and crab. The 

 combination presents the dorsal view of the crab and the ventral view of the 

 man, with the result that both appear to be complete. The crustacean carapace is 

 particularly true to nature. There are however but eight crab legs, one pair not 

 being represented, unless the human legs were intended to take the place of those 



1 Globus, LX, 164, fig. 7, 1891. 



