84 
near the bottom, at the northern and southern extremities, and 
more or less on the eastern side. The gold figures were gene- 
rally in the central line, and at about one-fourth of the distance 
from the head to the foot of the grave. Earthen vessels were 
sometimes found in the pebble deposit, near the surface, and if so, 
they were usually at either the head or the foot of the grave-space. 
The other variety of quadrangular huaca, although poor in 
relics, was more carefully and differently constructed. This 
variety existed chiefly in the southern and eastern sections of 
the huacal. A hole had been dug, six feet six inches long and 
four feet broad ; at the depth of three feet, this space was con- 
tracted eight or ten inches on all sides, and was sunk to the 
additional depth of about two feet. This smaller excavation, 
or cist, was lined at the sides with fiat stones placed edgewise, 
which were held in position by larger flat stones resting upon 
them, and the earthen ledge at the top of the cist. The floor 
of the cist was not paved ; there were usually two depressions 
in it, corresponding with the probable position of the head and 
the heels of the body. The cist was covered with flat stones, 
and the space between the cover and the surface of the ground 
was filled with pebbles. The relics in these huacas were chiefly 
found at the head and foot, and on the eastern side. Scarcely 
any, if any, gold figures were found in this variety of huaea ; 
pottery was found in the cist, and, sometimes, in the pebble 
deposit. A black loamy earth in the cist indicated the original 
position of the body. 
Mr. John F. Bateman, of Panama, says of the Chiriqui graves 
that they are all regularly built sepulchres, the body having 
been laid upon the hard pan" or clay ; the sides were formed 
of fiat stones, and the cover was of larger flat stones, many of 
which would measure a yard square. The graves varied in 
depth, ranging from three to ten feet ; the distance of the 
*' hard pan" from the surface regulated the depth, for the body 
"was always placed upon it. The bodies were deposited lying 
north and south. Some of the graves contained as much as 
3lbs. weight of gold objects, others none. The richest graves 
had the least pottery, and the huacas without gold the most 
pottery. Stone hatchets were also found associated with the 
gold objects and the pottery. 
Most of the gold ornaments taken from the huacas were, 
probably, worn as ornaments, suspended around the neck of 
the person buried. Square, oblong, triangular, and circular 
plates of thin fine gold have also been met with. Nearly all the 
