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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 146 
carved in low-relief were found by Verrill near Penonome. Animal 
figures carved in the round and human peg-statues occur in Chiriqui. 
Huge stone spheres and smaller anthropomorphic and zoomorphic 
figures carved in low-relief are reported in the Diquis region (south- 
western Costa Rica) . Although such representations are rare in cen- 
tral Costa Rica, sculpture reaches its climax in figures of men and 
women carved in the round, the so-called "sukias," trophy-heads, al- 
tars with pedestal base, tables decorated with flying panels, and other 
forms. In southwestern Nicaragua numerous tall stone statues depict 
human beings bearing on their backs or heads an animal figure. Others 
are depicted wearing masks or seated on tall pedestals. These statues 
are rare in northwestern Costa Rica. What seem to be degenerate 
manifestations of this art occur at the Papagayo site, near the Bay 
of Culebra, one of the southernmost outposts of the Nicaraguan 
sculpture (Baudez, 1959). On the other side of the Lake of Nicaragua, 
in the region of Chontales, very tall columns ( some reaching 4 meters 
in height) supporting human figures carved in low relief are known to 
exist. 
Everywhere except in the Parita Bay region, richly carved metates 
continued to be common. The four-legged jaguar form found in cen- 
tral Costa Rica is identical to those of Chiriqui, and similar to the 
type from Veraguas. The three-legged form is most common in north- 
western Costa Rica and southwestern Nicaragua, but sometimes oc- 
curs in other regions. Gold is most abundant in Panama. In Costa 
Rica, metal is very rare in the central plateau, but abundant in the 
Linea Vieja zone. We do not know at what date metal appears in 
northwestern Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and the very rare gold ob- 
jects found in tombs contrast with the abundance of gold objects 
described by the Spanish chroniclers. A precise typology of metallic 
objects found in the area is needed as a basis for more exact definition 
of local styles. For the moment, the Code and Veraguas styles seem to 
be most differentiated ; Chiriqui and Costa Rica metallurgies are very 
similar and seem to borrow many traits from the Code and Veraguas 
productions. 
Sculptures, richly decorated stone metates and tools, and gold and 
jade ornaments, indicate more than an increase of ceremonialism. As 
their types or styles are limited in number, and often extend over a 
considerable geographical area, it may be suggested that they were 
manufactured in certain specific localities and distributed by trade. 
The same may be said of the standardization and spread of some 
ceramic types, such as Mora Polychrome. There is evidence that 
