Graves of a particular form are said to occur sometimes in groups
occupying distinct parts of the cemetery, but the observations are not
sufficiently definite to be of value. The graves vary considerably in
form, construction, and depth, and are classified variously by
explorers. In the Bugaba cemetery Mr. Merritt found two well marked
varieties, the oval and the quadrangular, reference being had to the
horizontal section. The oval grave pits were from 4½ to 6 feet deep and
from 3 to 4 feet in greatest diameter. A wall of rounded river stones 2½
to 3 feet high lined the lower part of the pit, and from the top of this
the entire space was closely packed with rounded stones. Within the
faced up part of this cist the remains of the dead, the golden figures,
pottery, and implements had been deposited. This form is illustrated in
Fig. 1 by a vertical section constructed from the description given by
Mr. Merritt.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. Section of oval grave.]
The quadrangular graves were constructed in two somewhat distinct ways.
One variety was identical in most respects with the oval form
illustrated above. They were sometimes as much as 6 feet deep and
frequently 4 by 7 feet in horizontal dimensions. In the other form a pit
4 by 6½ feet in diameter was sunk to the depth of about 3 feet.
Underneath this another pit some 2 feet in depth was sunk, leaving an
offset or terrace 8 or 10 inches in width all around. The smaller pit
was lined with flat stones placed on edge. In this cist the human
remains and the relics were placed and covered over with flat stones,
which rested upon the terrace and prevented the superincumbent mass,
which consisted of closely packed river stones, from crushing the
contents. A section of this tomb is given in Fig. 2, also drawn from the
description given by Mr. Merritt.
[Illustration: Fig. 2. Section of a quadrangular grave, showing the
surface pack of river stories and the positions of the slabs and
objects of art.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3. Grave with pillars, described by De Zeltner.]
[Illustration: Fig. 4. Compound cist, described by De Zeltner.]
Mr. Merritt and others mention that in some of the graves pillars are
employed to support the roof of the cist. These pillars are mentioned
briefly by De Zeltner, from whose account the following illustrations
are drawn. This author does not state that he made any personal
investigations, and if his accounts were obtained from the natives their
entire trustworthiness may very properly be questioned. The first two
forms mentioned by him are similar to those already given. The third is
described as having at the corners square pillars of stone to support
the covering, which, however, is not described. The fourth has four
pillars, placed in the corners of the pit. These serve to support a
vault of flagstones. The walls between the pillars are faced with
pebbles, as in the cases previously described. Fig. 3 will make this
form clear at a glance. The fifth variety described by De Zeltner is
quite extraordinary in construction. His account is somewhat confusing
in a number of respects, and the section given in Fig. 4 cannot claim
more than approximate accuracy in details and measurements. Near the
surface a paving, perhaps of river stones, was found covering an area of
about 10 by 13 feet. This paving was apparently the surface of a pack
about 2 feet thick, and covered the mouth of the main pit, which was
some 6 or 7 feet deep. Pillars of cobble stones about 10 inches in
diameter occupied the corners of the pit, and probably served in a
measure to support the paving. In the bottom of this excavation a second
pit was dug, the mouth of which was also covered by a paving 2½ by
upwards of 3 feet in horizontal dimensions. This lower pit consisted of
a shaft several feet in depth, by which descent was made into a chamber
of inverted pyramidal shape. This chamber approximated 6 by 9 feet in
horizontal dimensions and was some 4 or 5 feet deep. At the bottom of
this cistern the human remains and most of the relics were deposited.
The shaft was filled in with earth and the pavings described. The total
depth, computed from the figures given, is about 18 feet, a most
remarkable achievement for a barbarous people; yet this is equaled by
the ancient tribes of the mainland of New Granada, where similar burial
customs seem to have prevailed. Mr. White,[7] who traveled extensively
in the northwestern part of the state, says:
A dry, elevated ridge, composed of easily excavated material, was
selected as the cemetery. A pit of only a yard or so in diameter was
sunk, sometimes vertically, sometimes at an angle, or sometimes it
varied from vertical to inclined. It was sunk to depths varying from
15 to 60 feet, and at the bottom a chamber was formed in the earth.
Here the dead was deposited, with his arms, tools, cooking utensils,
ornaments, and chattels generally, with maize and fermented liquor
made of maize. The chamber and passage were then rammed tightly full
of earth, and sometimes it would appear that peculiar earth, other
than that excavated on the spot, was used. One not unfrequently
detects a peculiar aromatic smell in the earth, and fragments of
charcoal are always found mixed with it in more or less quantity.
M. De Zeltner describes other very simple graves which are filled in
with earth, excepting a surface paving of pebbles.
Mr. McNiel, who has examined more examples than any other white man, and
over a wide district with David as a center, discredits the statements
of De Zeltner in respect to the form illustrated in Fig. 4, and states
that generally the graves do not differ greatly in shape and finish from
the ordinary graves of to-day. He describes the pits as being oval and
quadrangular and as having a depth ranging from a few feet to 18 feet.
The paving or pack consists of earth and water worn stones, the latter
pitched in without order and forming but a small percentage of the
filling. He has never seen such stones used in facing the walls of the
pit or in the construction of pillars. The flat stones which cover the
cist are often 10 or 15 feet below the surface and are in some cases
very heavy, weighing 300 pounds or more. A single stone is in cases
large enough to cover the entire space, but more frequently two or more
flat stones are laid side by side across the cavity. These are supported
by river stones, a foot or more in length, set around the margin of the
cist. He is of the opinion that both slabs and bowlders were in many
cases carried long distances. No one of the pits examined was of the
extraordinary form described in detail by De Zeltner and others.
[Footnote 7: B. B. White: Jour. Anthrop. Inst. Great Britain and
Ireland, p. 246. February, 1884.]