1893, ] Archeology and Ethnology. 907 
ARCHEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY.’ 
The Exposicion Historico Americano, Madrid, Spain,1892, 
(Continued from p. 843).—I may be excused if I should give, in a 
most general manner, some intimation of the displays made by other 
countries of which we have no catalogue and no report. I should pre- 
mise this by saying that this Exposition was the finest Pre-Historic or 
Proto-Historie or Archs»ologie display of American objects probably 
ever united under one roof. While we might be able to find more ex- 
tensive displays from the United States than were here shown, and 
they might find in Mexico more extensive displays of Mexican antiqui- 
ties than were at Madrid, and so on with regard to every country of 
America; but in this Exposition all these good things were brought 
together, and one had the opportunity, by passing from one hall to 
another to see the representatives of the good things of all countries. 
This made it the best thing of its kind ever produced. 
Nicaragua adjoins the United States of America. A large propor- 
tion of its antiquities came from the Islands of Zapatera and Solen- 
tiname, in Lake Nicaragua. A leading object was a sample idol of 
stone from Zappatera similar to those in my department from the same 
locality. There were many objects in gold, not the same as those from 
Chiriqui or Antioquia, but bearing resemblance thereto. There 
were arrow- and spear-points of obsidian, the polished stone hatchets 
and similar objects showing them to belong to the Age of Pol- 
ished Stone. They had quite a number of mealing stones—metates— 
some with legs and animal feet and animal heads, and altogether curi- 
ously-worked objects of art. They had a mass of pre-historic pottery, 
the shoe-shaped urn, the yellow and red decorated pottery, tripod 
bowls or dishes. Mr. Myorga, the head of the Commission, classed 
these as Aztecs, or as having a relation to the Aztec civilization. 
Guatemala had an extensive display of antiquities. Stone idols 
mealing stones—metates—decorated with the heads of animals, stone 
tables, pestles, hammers, cores, chips, flakes, and arrow-and spear-points 
of obsidian. They had a fine display of pottery of all kinds and sorts, 
plain and decorated, of various sizes, and making as complete a series 
as possible. Their Spanish antiquities, or those brought to them or 
left there by the Conquistadores, were of considerable number and of 
1 This department is edited by Thomas Wilson, Smithsonian Institution, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 
