. Bulletin. Ethnology. 36 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 191 serpent appears to be a variety of sea creature; the illusion is created mainly by the long curling "; No truly representative creatures are known in Panama or its waters, but one is reminded of the common yellow-bellied sea snake (Polamis platuria) which may have been elevated by prehistoric imagination to the level of some superstitious significance. Several sherds would appear to be of the same pattern. A very realistically executed lizard or iguana is illustrated in plate 12 and figure 12, representing the
. Bulletin. Ethnology. 36 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 191 serpent appears to be a variety of sea creature; the illusion is created mainly by the long curling "; No truly representative creatures are known in Panama or its waters, but one is reminded of the common yellow-bellied sea snake (Polamis platuria) which may have been elevated by prehistoric imagination to the level of some superstitious significance. Several sherds would appear to be of the same pattern. A very realistically executed lizard or iguana is illustrated in plate 12 and figure 12, representing the finest example of incised relief ware from the site. The backward-facing position of the head appears rather unusual for Panama and gives the whole design an appearance reminiscent of Quetzalcoatl motifs in Mexico such as that on the facades of Xochicalco. This is also frequently the position in which Chinese dragons are portrayed. Lothrop (1942; figs. 43-44) illus- trates a bird in this position from a painted Code plate, but there does not seem to be any relation between the above and the serpent or lizard motifs from Sitio Conte or Veraguas, The collection also includes fragments of other similar designs, all of which are approxi- mately the same size. A nearly complete parrot was found (pi. 13, a), which, judging by its curvature and thickness (10 mm.), originally formed a portion of a very large urn. This is an example of the modeled-relief technique in which the body is formed by pushing the clay outward from the inside of the vessel so that the actual wall thickness remains un- changed. Again, one is reminded more of Mexican motifs than of the polychrome phases of Panama. A similarly formed monkey urn was discussed Figure 12.—Detail of lizard effigy Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectethnolo, bookyear1901
