Miscellaneous Intelligence. 479 



The work begins with a historical introduction in which the 

 principal sources are cited, and then takes up the description of 

 the antiquities under the various heads of classification. Every- 

 one who writes on this subject must make acknowledgment, as Dr. 

 MacCurdy has done, to Professor William H. Holmes, whose 

 work on the art of Chiriqui was the first (1884-1885) which laid 

 down most thoroughly the principles for such studies. 



The description of these collections must necessarily be con- 

 fined to artifacts of stone, pottery and metal, which can survive 

 long burial, and, therefore, must be limited as to other arts such 

 as weaving, basketry, wood-carving, etc. Nevertheless, the book 

 illustrates sufficiently the culture status of the tribes of ancient 

 Chiriqui, who rank in art only in small degree lower than the 

 Mexicans and Peruvians. In this case it is not wholly a question 

 of mere material — rather, the skill in classifying and describing 

 what is at hand. Since most of the antiquities were taken from 

 the graves about 50 years ago, and most of the first-class sites 

 exhausted long ago, it is hardly possible to accomplish now field 

 work that will have adequate bearing on the collections in 

 museums. As illustrations of culture history, the Chiriquian 

 antiquities fulfill their purpose, and as survivals of the ideas of the 

 prehistoric artist, they are of surpassing interest, irrespective of 

 dates, tribal provenance and other data, valuable if procurable. 



Dr. MacCurdy's work shows that the symbolic art lavished in 

 the decoration of the artifacts has great scientific value and also 

 economic value to students of design. Numerous examples are 

 given of the transmutations of pictorial motives, such as the arma- 

 dillo, alligator, fish, serpent, and frog, which furnish an important 

 though difficult field for the study of symbolic art. Dr. Mac- 

 Curdy concludes that there is a general phylogenetic trend in the 

 development of Chiriquian art as a whole ; he states also that 

 "the results of the present study point to the forces from within 

 rather than to those from without, as being the chief factors in 

 the development of Chiiiquian culture, which contains many ele- 

 ments of fundamental importance to a complete history of primi- 

 tive art." 



A good bibliogi'aphy and index accompany the work, the illus- 

 trations are numerous and excellent, and the description of the 

 artifacts is according to a high standard of accuracy and fulness. 



WALTER HOUGH. 



2. National Academy of Sciences. — The autumn meeting of 

 the National Academy of Sciences was held at the Public Library 

 in New York City on November 21, 22. President Remsen occu- 

 pied the chair and upwards of sixty members were in attendance, 

 a record probably never exceeded. A reception to the Academy 

 was given at the American Museum of Natural History by the 

 President and Trustees on Wednesday afternoon ; other social 

 events added to the attractions of an unusually interesting meet- 

 ing. 



The list of papers presented is as follows : 



