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INTRODUCTION 41 
basketry tube as do their kindred in the Orinoco Val- 
ley. Long before the forcible immigration it is likely 
that the Caribs, who were cannibalistic in habit, had 
raided the shores of Central America in their seagoing 
canoes. A significant passage in the chronicles of the 
Mayas states that naked man-eating savages visited 
Yucatan long before the coming of the Spaniards. 
The Mosquito Indians of the east coast of Nicaragua 
have a very considerable negro admixture. They are 
fishermen of low culture. It has recently been possible 
to connect the original Indian stock of this unhealthy 
coast with other tribes who live farther inland. The 
interior tribes of eastern Honduras and Nicaragua re- 
tain a great deal of their old-time culture but they have 
been seldom visited or described. Large communal 
houses are constructed in some parts of this region. The 
bow and arrow is still skilfully used in killing game. 
The authority of the government does not make itself 
felt among these wild and primitive Indians although 
many acknowledge outwardly the Catholic faith. 
In the narrow Isthmian region there are tribes of 
Indians that resist manfully the inroads of civilization. 
Perhaps the best known of these are the San Blas 
Indians who inhabit the mountain fastnesses east of 
the Canal Zone. In northern Costa Rica the Guatuso 
and Talamanca tribes still maintain to a considerable 
degree their old native character. 
Physical Types. Minor physical differences in 
stature, head form, and facial expression mark off pretty 
clearly the tribes of this area from each other. The 
stature is lowest among the Mayas and Mazatecas, 
the average being about 5 feet 1 inch while among the 
Tarascans, Tlascalas, and Zapotecs, it averages about 
5 feet 3 inches. The other tribes of Central America 
