IN ANCIENT AMERICAN ART. 161 



semblance to the treatment of the animal head on the jars 

 from Tennessee. In fact the undeiiying principle in both 

 is the same. 



Plate II contains figures of the human face as seen on 

 seven small vessels from ancient burial places near together 

 in Nicaragua. 



In figure 1, we have a well carved human face. In this 

 effort the potter evidently did his best to make a symmet- 

 rica! head and the only lack is in the eyes, one of which is 

 apparently represented as closed and the other half closed, 

 or with the upper lid drawn down. The realism is further 

 shown by the stud-like Ornaments in the enlarged ear- 

 lobes. 



Figure 2 is still realistic in the portions represented, 

 but the mouth is absent, and the nose and eyes are the 

 prominent features, while the ears are rudely done. 



In figure 3 the several features are distinctly presented 

 and each one is characteristically represented. 



In figure 4 the same method of showing the parts of the 

 face is followed, but from the eyes extend lines represent- 

 ing the eyebrows. This is probably the beginning of the 

 combination of the serpent with the face as shown in 

 another series. 



Figure 5 shows all the features, but each is reduced to 

 its characteribtic parts. 



In figure 6 the eyes and ears are nearly the same as in 

 the preceding, but the nose has become simply a round 

 knob. The mouth has now disappeared in this series of 

 conventionalized forms, and, finally, in figure 7, the nose, 

 eyes and ears are all reduced to simple knobs formed of 

 pinches of clay added to the suifiice of the jar, thus rep- 

 resenting the several features of the face in the same 

 manner as in the jar from Tennessee. Although the ar- 



