Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution . lengths are cut transversely and are terminated withthe characteristic shallow punctation. Some of the anthropomorphic figurines are plainly caricatures,a few appear to be portrait models in clay. Headdress forms areparticularly striking. The turban, as on the archaic figurines fromMexico, and other forms of headdresses and hair coiffures, arecharacteristic. Generally it is impossible to recognize the species of zoomorphicfigurine modeled in clay, because of the conventional distortions andomissions. Undoubtedly, some of th
Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution . lengths are cut transversely and are terminated withthe characteristic shallow punctation. Some of the anthropomorphic figurines are plainly caricatures,a few appear to be portrait models in clay. Headdress forms areparticularly striking. The turban, as on the archaic figurines fromMexico, and other forms of headdresses and hair coiffures, arecharacteristic. Generally it is impossible to recognize the species of zoomorphicfigurine modeled in clay, because of the conventional distortions andomissions. Undoubtedly, some of the figurine heads are intendedto represent zemis belonging to an individual or family. Convention-alized presentations bespeak an old and deeply rooted culture, notnecessarily a high culture, but one thriving throughout a long periodof time in comparative isolation. It is possible that the personagesor creatures represented are in part ceremonial and belong to the socialand religious life of the tribe, not necessarily bearing any definiterelationship to animal Smithsonian Report, 1929.—Krieger PLATE 2
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