The Chiriquians, like many of their neighbors in the tropical portions
of the American continent, were skilled in the working of metals. Gold,
silver, copper, and tin--the last in alloys with copper forming
bronze--are found in the graves. Gold is the most important, and is
associated with all the others in alloys or as a surface coating. The
inhabitants of the isthmus at the time of the discovery were rich in
objects, chiefly ornaments, of this metal, and expeditions sent out
under Balboa, Pizarro, and others plundered the natives without mercy.
When the Indian village of Darien was captured by Balboa (1510) he
obtained "plates of gold, such as they hang on their breasts and other
parts, and other things, all of them amounting to ten thousand pesos of
fine gold."[14] From an expedition to Nicaragua the same adventurers
brought back to Panama the value of "112,524 pieces of eight in low
gold, and 145 in pearls."[15] Early Spanish-American history abounds in
stories of this kind. Among others we read that Columbus found the
natives along the Atlantic coast of Chiriqui and Veragua so rich in
objects of gold that he named the district _Castillo del Oro_. It is
said that the illusory stories of an _El Dorado_ somewhere within the
continent of South America arose from the lavish use of gold ornaments
by the natives whom the Spaniards encountered, and that Costa Rica gets
its name from the same circumstance. It is also recorded that the
natives of various parts of Central and South America at the date of the
conquest were in the habit of opening ancient graves for the purpose of
securing mortuary trinkets. The whites have followed their example with
the greatest eagerness. As far back as 1642 the Spaniards passed a law
claiming all the gold found in the burial places of Spanish America,[16]
the whole matter being treated merely as a means of revenue.
The objects of gold for which the tombs of Chiriqui are justly famous
are generally believed to have been simple personal ornaments, the
jewelry of the primeval inhabitants, although it is highly probable that
many of the figures, at least as originally employed, had an emblematic
meaning. They were doubtless at all times regarded as possessed of
potent charms, and thus capable of protecting and forwarding the
interests of their owners. They have been found in great numbers within
the last twenty-five years, but for the most part, even at this late
date, have been esteemed for their money value only. Very many specimens
found their way to this country, where they were either sold for
curiosities or, after waiting long for a purchaser, even in the very
shadow of our museums, were consigned to the melting pot. Many stories
bearing upon this point have been told me. A Washington jeweler is
represented as having exhibited in his window on Pennsylvania avenue
about the year 1860 a remarkable series of these trinkets, most of which
were afterwards sent to New York to be melted. About the same period a
gentleman on entering a shop in San Francisco was accosted by a stranger
who had his pockets well filled with these curious relics and wished to
dispose of them for cash. A number of my acquaintances have neat but
grotesque examples of these little images of gold attached to their
watch guards, thus approving the taste of our prehistoric countrymen and
at the same time demonstrating the identity of ideas of personal
embellishment in all times and with all peoples.
The ornaments are found only in a small percentage of the graves, those
probably of persons sufficiently opulent to possess them in life;
a majority of the graves contain none whatever. They are often found at
the bottom of the pits, and probably in nearly the position occupied by
them while still attached to the persons of the dead. It is said that
occasionally they are found in niches at the sides of the graves, as if
placed during the filling of the pit.
Strangely enough, the gold is very generally alloyed with copper, the
composite metal ranging from pure gold to pure copper. A small
percentage of silver is also present in some of the specimens examined,
but this is probably a natural alloy. In a few cases very simple figures
appear to have been shaped from nuggets or masses of the native metals;
this, however, is not susceptible of proof. The work is very skillfully
done, so that we find it difficult to ascertain the precise methods of
manipulation. The general effect in the more pretentious pieces
resembles that of our filigree work, in which the parts are produced by
hammering and united by soldering; yet there are many evidences of
casting, and these must be considered with care. As a rule simple
figures and some portions of composite figures present very decided
indications of having been cast in molds, yet no traces of these molds
have come to light, and there are none of those characteristic markings
which result from the use of composite or "piece" molds. Wire was
extensively used in the formation of details of anatomy and
embellishment, and its presence does not at first seem compatible with
ordinary casting. This wire, or pseudo-wire it may be, is generally
about one-twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter.
The manner in which the numerous parts or sections of complex figures
are joined together is both interesting and perplexing. Evidences of the
use of solder have been looked for in vain, and if such a medium was
ever used it was identical in kind with the body of the object or so
small in quantity as to escape detection. At the junction of the parts
there are often decided indications of hammering, or at least of the
strong pressure of an implement; but in pursuing the matter further we
find a singular perfection in the joining, which amounts to a
coalescence of the metals of the two parts concerned. There is no
weakness or tendency to part along the contact surfaces, neither is
there anything like the parting of parallel wires in coils or where a
series of wires is joined side by side and carried through various
convolutions. In a number of cases I made sections of coils and parts
composed of a number of wires, in the hope of discovering evidences of
the individuality of the strands, but the metal in the section is always
homogeneous, breaking with a rough, granular fracture, and not more
readily along apparent lines of junction than across them; and further,
in studying in detail the surface of parts unpolished or protected from
wear by handling, we find everywhere the granular and pitted unevenness
characteristic of cast surfaces. This is true of the wire forms as well
as of the massive parts, and, in addition to this, such defects occur in
the wires as would hardly be possible if they were of wrought gold.
All points considered, I am inclined to believe that the objects were
cast, and cast in their entirety. It is plain, however, that the
original model was made up of separately constructed parts of wire or
wirelike strands and of eccentric and often rather massive parts, and
that all were set together by the assistance of pressure, the
indications being that the material used was sufficiently plastic to be
worked after the manner of clay, dough, or wax. In one case, for
example, the body of a serpent, consisting of two wires neatly twisted
together, is held in the hand of a grotesque figure. The hand consists
of four fingers made by doubling together two short pieces of wire. The
coil has been laid across the hand and pressed down into it until half
buried, and the ends of the fingers are drawn up around it without any
indication of hammer strokes. Indeed, the effect is just such as would
have been produced if the artist had worked in wax. Again, in the
modeling of the eyes we have a good illustration. The eye is a minute
ball cleft across the entire diameter by a sharp implement, thus giving
the effect of the parted lids. Now, if the material had been gold or
copper, as in the specimens, the ball would have been separated into two
parts or hemispheres, which would not exhibit any great distortion; but
as we see them here the parts are flattened and much drawn out by the
pressure of the cutting edge, just as if the material had been decidedly
plastic.
It seems to me that the processes of manufacture must have been
analogous to those employed by the more primitive metal workers of our
own day. In Oriental countries delicate objects of bronze and other
metals are made as follows: A model is constructed in some such material
as wax or resin and over it are placed coatings of clay or other
substance capable of standing great heat. These coatings, when
sufficiently thickened and properly dried, form the mold, from which the
original model is extracted by means of heat. The fused metal is
afterwards poured in. As a matter of course, both the mold and the model
are destroyed in each case, and exact duplications are not to be
expected. Mr. George F. Kunz, of New York, with whom I have discussed
this matter, states that he has seen live objects, such as insects, used
as models in this way. Being coated with washes of clay or like
substance until well protected and then heavily covered, they were
placed in the furnace. The animal matter was thus reduced to ashes and
extracted through small openings made for the purpose.
As bearing upon this subject it should be mentioned that occasionally
small figures in a fine reddish resin are obtained from the graves of
Chiriqui. They are identical in style of modeling with the objects of
gold and copper obtained from the same source.
In discussing possible processes, Mr. William Hallock, of the division
of chemistry and physics of the United States Geological Survey,
suggested that if the various sections of a metal ornament were embedded
in the surface of a mass of fire clay in their proper relations and
contacts they could then be completely inclosed in the mass and
subjected to heat until the metal melted and ran together. After
cooling, the complete figure could be removed by breaking up the clay
matrix. I imagine that in such work much difficulty would be experienced
in securing proper contact and adjustment of parts of complex figures.
It will likewise be observed that evidences of plasticity in the
modeling material would not exist. I must not pass a suggestion of
Nadaillac[17] which offers a possible solution of the problem of
manipulation. Referring to a statement of the early Spanish explorers
that smelting was unknown to the inhabitants of Peru, he states that it
would be possible for a people in a low state of culture to discover
that an amalgam of gold with mercury is quite plastic, and that after a
figure is modeled in this composite metal the mercury may be dissipated
by heat, leaving the form in gold, which then needs only to be polished.
There is, however, no evidence whatever that these people had any
knowledge of mercury.
There is no indication of carving or engraving in the Chiriquian work.
In finishing, some of the extremities seem to have been shaped by
hammering. This was a mere flattening out of the feet or parts of the
accessories, which required no particular skill and could have been
accomplished with comparatively rude stone hammers. It is a remarkable
fact that many, if not most, of the objects appear to be either plated
or washed with pure gold, the body or foundation being of base gold or
of nearly pure copper. This fact, coupled with that of the association
of objects of bronze with the relics, leads us to inquire carefully into
the possibilities of European influence or agency. I observe that recent
writers do not seem to have questioned the genuineness of the objects
described by them, but that at the same time no mention is made of the
plating or washing. This latter circumstance leads to the inference that
pieces now in my possession exhibiting this phenomenon may have been
tampered with by the whites. In this connection attention should be
called to the fact that history is not silent on the matter of plating.
The Indians of New Granada are said to have been not only marvelously
skillful in the manipulation of metals, but, according to Bollaert,
Acosta declares that these peoples had much _gilt_ copper, "and the
copper was gilt by the use of the juice of a plant rubbed over it, then
put into the fire, when it took the gold color."[18] Just what this
means we cannot readily determine, but we safely conclude that, whatever
the process hinted at in these words, a thin surface deposit of pure
gold, or the close semblance of it, was actually obtained. It is not
impossible that an acid may have been applied which tended to destroy
the copper of the alloy, leaving a deposit of gold upon the surface,
which could afterwards be burnished down.
It has been suggested to me that possibly the film of gold may in cases
be the result of simple decay on the part of the copper of the alloy,
the gold remaining as a shell upon the surface of the still undecayed
portion of the composite metal; but the surface in such a case would not
be burnished, whereas the show surfaces of the specimens recovered are
in all cases neatly polished.
If we should conclude that the ancient Americans were probably able to
secure in some such manner a thin film of gold, it still remains to
inquire whether there may not have been some purely mechanical means of
plating. In some of the Chiriquian specimens a foundation of very base
metal appears to have been plated with heavy sheet gold, which as the
copper decays comes off in flakes. Occasional pieces have a blistered
look as a consequence. Were these people able with their rude appliances
to beat gold into very thin leaves? and Had they discovered processes by
which these could be applied to the surfaces of objects of metal? are
questions that should probably be answered in the affirmative.
The flakes in some cases indicate a very great degree of thinness.
Specimens of sheet gold ornaments found in the tombs are thicker, but
are sufficiently thin to indicate that, if actually made by these
people, almost any degree of thinness could be attained by them. It
would probably not be difficult to apply thin sheet gold to the
comparatively smooth surfaces of these ornaments and to fix it by
burnishing.
Mr. Kunz suggests still another method by means of which plating could
have been accomplished. If a figure in wax were coated with sheet gold
and then incased in a clay matrix, the wax could be melted out, leaving
the shell of gold within. The cavity could then be filled with alloy,
the clay could be removed, and the gold, which would adhere to the
metal, could then be properly burnished down.
It will be seen from this hasty review that, although we may conclude
that casting and plating were certainly practiced by these peoples, we
must remain in ignorance of the precise methods employed.
Referring to the question of the authenticity of the specimens
themselves, I may note that observations bearing upon the actual
discovery of particular specimens in the tombs are unfortunately
lacking. Mr. McNiel acknowledges that with all his experience in the
work of excavation no single piece has been taken from the ground with
his own hands, and he cannot say that he ever witnessed the exhumation
by others, although he has been present when they were brought up from
the pits. Generally the workmen secrete them and afterwards offer them
for sale. He has, however, no shadow of a doubt that all the pieces
procured by him came from the graves as reported by his collectors. The
question of the authenticity of the gilding will not be satisfactorily
or finally settled until some responsible collector shall have taken the
gilded objects with his own hands from their undisturbed places in tombs
known to be of pre-Columbian construction.
There are many proofs, however, of the authenticity of the objects
themselves. It is asserted by a number of early writers that the
American natives were, on the arrival of the Spaniards, highly
accomplished in metallurgy; that they worked with blowpipes and cast in
molds; that the objects produced exhibited a high order of skill; and
that the native talent was directed with unusual force and uniformity
toward the imitation of life forms. It is said that the conquerors were
"struck with wonder" at their skill in this last respect. And a strong
argument in favor of the genuineness of these objects is found in the
fact that it is not at all probable that rich alloys of gold would have
been used by Europeans for the base or foundation when copper or bronze,
or even lead, would have served as well. We also observe that there is
absolutely no trace of peculiarly European material or methods of
manipulation, a condition hardly possible if the extensive reproductions
were made by the whites. Neither are there traces of European ideas
embodied in the shapes or in the decoration of the objects--a
circumstance that argues strongly in favor of native origin. An equally
convincing argument is found in the fact that all the alloys liable to
corrosion exhibit marked evidences of decay, as if for a long period
subject to the destructive agents of the soil. In many cases the copper
alloy base crumbles into black powder, leaving only the flakes of the
plating. Lastly and most important, the strange creatures represented
are in many cases identical with those embodied in clay and in stone,
and for these latter works no one will for a moment claim a foreign
derivation.
Considering all these arguments, I arrive at the conclusion that the
ornaments are, in the main, genuine antiquities, and that, if any
deception at all has been practiced, it is to be laid at the door of
modern goldsmiths and speculators, who, according to Mr. McNiel, are
known in a few cases to have "doctored" alloyed objects with washes of
gold with the view of selling them as pure gold.
I present the following specimens with a reasonable degree of confidence
that all, or nearly all, are of purely American fabrication, and I
sincerely hope that at no distant day competent archæologists may have
the opportunity of making personal observations of similar relics in
place.
The objects consist to a great extent of representations of life forms,
in many cases more fanciful than real and often extremely grotesque.
They include the human figure and a great variety of birds and beasts
indigenous to the country, in styles resembling work in clay and stone
of the same region. My illustrations show the actual sizes of the
objects.
[Illustration: Fig. 26. Human figure with ridged crown, formed of
copper-gold alloy.]
_The human figure._--Statuettes of men and women and of a variety of
anthropomorphic figures of all degrees of elaboration abound. Fig. 26
illustrates a plain, rude specimen belonging to the collection of J. B.
Stearns. It was obtained by Mr. McNiel from near the south base of Mount
Chiriqui. The body is solid and the surface is rough and pitted, as if
from decay. In many respects it resembles the stone sculptures of the
isthmus. The metal is nearly pure copper. A piece exhibiting more
elaborate workmanship, illustrated by Bollaert,[19] is shown in Fig. 27.
Another remarkable specimen is illustrated by De Zeltner, but the
photograph published with his brochure is too indistinct to permit of
satisfactory reproduction. He describes it in the following language:
The most curious piece in my collection is a gold figure of a man,
7 centimeters in height. The head is ornamented with a diadem
terminated on each side with the head of a frog. The body is nude,
except a girdle, also in the form of a plait, supporting a flat
piece intended to cover the privates, and two round ornaments on
each side. The arms are extended from the body; the well drawn hands
hold, one of them a short, round club, the other a musical
instrument, of which one end is in the mouth and the other forms an
enlargement like that of a flute, made of human bone. It is not
probable that this is a pipe. Both thighs have an enlargement, and
the toes are not marked in this little figurine.[20]
[Illustration: Fig. 27. Grotesque human figure in gold, from
Bollaert.]
[Illustration: Fig. 28. Rudely shaped and finished human figure in
gold.]
In Fig. 28 we have a rather rudely made and finished piece collected by
Mr. McNiel, and now owned by Mr. Stearns. It exhibits features
corresponding with a number of those referred to by De Zeltner. The
foundation is thin and is of base metal coated with pure gold. I present
two additional examples of the human figure from the collection of Mr.
Stearns. One of them (Fig. 29) is an interesting little statuette in
dark copper that still retains traces of the former gilding of yellow
gold. The crown is flat and is surrounded by a fillet of twisted wire.
The face is grotesque, the nose being bulbous, the mouth large, and the
lips protruding. The hands are represented as grasping cords of wire
which connect the waist with the crown of the figure and seem to be
intended for the bodies of serpents, the heads of which project from the
sides of the headdress. Similar serpents project from the ankles. The
feet are flattened out as if intended to be set in a crevice. The
extremities--excepting the feet--and the ornaments are all formed of
wire. The various parts of the figure have been modeled separately and
set together while the material was in a plastic or semiplastic
condition. This is clearly indicated by the sinking of one part into
another at the points of contact.
[Illustration: Fig. 29. Grotesque human figure in nearly pure
copper, partially coated with yellow gold.]
[Illustration: Fig. 30. Grotesque human figure in nearly pure gold.]
An excellent example of the more elaborate figures is shown in Fig. 30.
It is of reddish gold, slightly alloyed apparently with copper, and has
in finishing received a very thin wash or plating of yellow gold, which
is worn off in exposed parts. The central feature of the rather
complicated structure is a grotesque human figure, much like the
preceding, and having counterparts in both clay and stone. The figure is
backed up and strengthened by two curved and flattened bars of gold, one
above and the other below, as seen in the cut. The figure is decked with
and almost hidden by a profusion of curious details, executed for the
most part in wire and representing serpents and birds. Three
vulture-like heads project from the crown and overhang the face. Two
serpents, the bodies of which are formed of plaited wire, issue from the
mouth of the figure and are held about the neck by the hands. The heads
of the serpents are formed of wire folded in triangular form and are
supplied with double coils of wire at the sides, as if for ears, and
with little balls of gold for eyes. Similar heads project from the sides
of the head and from the feet of the image.
The peculiarities of construction are seen to good advantage in this
specimen. The figure is made up of a great number of separate pieces,
united apparently by pressure or by hammering while the material was
somewhat plastic. Upwards of eighty pieces can be counted. The larger
pieces, forming the body and limbs, are hollow or concave behind. Nearly
all the subordinate parts are constructed of wire.
[Illustration: Fig. 31. Rudely executed image of a bird in gold.]
_The bird._--Images of birds are numerous and vary greatly in size and
elaboration. They are usually represented with expanded wings and tails,
the under side of the body being finished for show. The back is left
concave and rough, as when cast, and is supplied with a ring for
suspension or attachment, as seen in the profile view (Fig. 31). The
owl, the eagle, the parrot, and various other birds are recognized,
although determinations of varieties are not possible, as in many cases
the forms are rude or greatly obscured by extraneous details. The
example shown in Fig. 31 is of the simplest type and the rudest
workmanship, and is apparently intended for some rapacious species,
possibly a vulture. The body, wings, and tail are hammered quite thin
and are left frayed and uneven on the edges. The material appears to be
nearly pure copper plated with yellow gold. Specimens of this class are
very numerous. One, presented in a publication of the Society of
Northern Antiquaries, and now in the museum at Copenhagen, is thought to
be intended for a fish hawk, as it carries a fish in its mouth. De
Zeltner mentions a statuette in gold of a paroquet, whose head is
ornamented with two winged tufts. Such a specimen may be seen in the
collection of Mr. Stearns.
[Illustration: Fig. 32. Image of a bird in gold, from Bollaert.]
Fig. 32 is reproduced from Bollaert. It represents a parrot and is very
elaborately worked.
[Illustration: Fig. 33. Puma shaped figure in gold.]
[Illustration: Fig. 34. Puma shaped figure in base metal.]
_The puma._--Representations of quadrupeds are common; a good example,
copied from Bollaert, is given in Fig. 33. The animal intended is
apparently a puma, a favorite subject with Chiriquian workers in clay
and stone as well as in gold. The body is hollow and open beneath and
the fore feet are finished with loops for suspension. A similar piece
with head thrown back over the body is shown in Fig. 34. The metal in
this case appears to be nearly pure copper.
_Grotesque figure._--Another piece collected by Mr. McNiel is outlined
in Fig. 35. The metal is quite base and the surface has been coated with
gold, which is now nearly all rubbed off. The shape is that of a
quadruped. The face has a rather grotesque, not to say satanic,
expression. The details are not unlike those of other examples
previously given.
[Illustration: Fig. 35. Quadruped with grotesque face in base
metal.]
[Illustration: Fig. 36. Figure of a fish in gold. From Harper's
Weekly, 1859.]
_The fish._--The fish was a favorite subject with the ancient nations of
South America, and is modeled in clay, woven into fabrics, and worked in
metals with remarkable freedom. It was in great favor in Chiriqui and
must have been of importance in the mythology of the country. It occurs
most frequently in pottery, where it is executed in color and modeled in
the round. The very grotesque specimen in gold shown in Fig. 36 is
copied from Harper's Weekly of August 6, 1859, where it forms one of a
number of illustrations of these curious ornaments. The paper is,
I believe, by Dr. F. M. Otis, who had just returned from Panama. A very
curious piece owned by Mrs. Philip Phillips, of Washington, represents a
creature having some analogies with the fish figure of Otis. Issuing
from the mouth is the same forked tongue, each part terminating in a
serpent's head. The body is about two inches long and the back has five
triangular perforations. The tail is forked and the four leg-like
members terminate in conventional serpents' heads. The metal is pure or
nearly pure gold.
[Illustration: Fig. 37. Large figure of a frog in base metal plated
with gold.]
[Illustration: Fig. 38. Small figure of a frog, in base metal plated
with gold.]
_The frog._--The frog appears in the plastic art of Chiriqui more
frequently perhaps than any other reptile. Its form is reproduced with
much spirit and in greatly varying sizes, degrees of elaboration, and
styles of presentation. It is probable that a number of species are
represented. In Fig. 37 we have a large, rather plain specimen, now in
the National Museum. The body and limbs are concave beneath, the metal
being about one-sixteenth of an inch thick. Teeth are suggested by a
number of perforations encircling the jaws and the eyes are minute hawk
bells containing pellets of metal. The legs are placed in characteristic
positions, and the hind feet are broad plates without indications of
toes, a characteristic of these golden frogs. The framework or
foundation is of copper, apparently nearly pure, and the surface is
plated with thin sheet gold, which tends to flake off as the copper
foundation corrodes.
The minute, delicately finished example given in Fig. 38 contrasts
strongly with the preceding. It is also of base metal plated with pure
gold and belongs to the collection of Mr. Stearns.
[Illustration: Fig. 39. Figure of an alligator, in gold, published
in Harper's Weekly, 1859.]
_The alligator._--The alligator, which appears so frequently in the
pottery of Chiriqui, is only occasionally found in gold. A striking
specimen, illustrated in Harper's Weekly of August 6, 1859, is given in
Fig. 39. A similar piece, formed of base metal, is in the collection of
Mr. Stearns.
[Illustration: Fig. 40. Animal figure, in base metal plated with
gold.]
_The crayfish (?)._--In Fig. 40 we have a fine specimen, intended
apparently to represent a crayfish or some similar crustacean form. The
head is supplied with complicated yet graceful antenna-like appendages,
made of wire neatly coiled and welded together by pressure or hammering.
The eyes are globular and are encircled by the ends of a double loop of
wire which extends along the back and incloses a line of minute balls or
nodes. The peculiar wings and tail will be best understood by referring
to the illustration. The foundation metal is much corroded, being dark
and rotten, and the plating of reddish gold seems to have been coated
with a thin film of yellow gold. The profile view gives a good idea of
the thickness of the metal and of the relief of the parts. Two rings or
loops of doubled wire are attached to the extreme end of the nose and a
heavy ring for suspending is fixed to the under side of the head.
_Miscellaneous._--Gold, pure and in the usual alloys, was also used in
the manufacture of other articles, such as bells, beads, disks, balls,
rings, whistles, thimble shaped objects, and amulets of varied shapes.
Bells are more generally made of bronze, because, perhaps, of its
greater degree of resonance. Thin plates, or rather circular sheets, of
gold leaf are numerous. One mentioned by Bollaert was 7¼ inches in
diameter. They are plain or crimped about the margins, indented in
various ways, and sometimes perforated, apparently for suspension or
attachment. Merritt mentions examples having holes which showed
evidences of wear upon one side only, indicating attachment in a fixed
position to some object or to some part of the costume. But one example
is at hand, a thin sheet, three inches in diameter and crimped or
indented neatly about the margin. Its thickness is about that of
ordinary tinfoil.
[Footnote 14: Herrera: Hist. America, Vol. VI, p. 369.]
[Footnote 15: Herrera: Hist. America, Vol. III, p. 287.]
[Footnote 16: Mr. Hawes's letter answering questions about
Chiriqui, read by Mr. Davis before the American Ethnological
Society, April 17, 1860.]
[Footnote 17: Nadaillac: Prehistoric America, p. 450.]
[Footnote 18: Bollaert: Ethnological and Other Researches in New
Granada, &c.]
[Footnote 19: Bollaert: Antiquarian Researches in New Granada,
plate facing p. 31.]
[Footnote 20: A. De Zeltner: Notes sur les sépultures indiennes du
département de Chiriqui.]