Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia: Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-1885, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 3-188Holmes, William Henry
History
Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia: Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-1885, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 3-188
Holmes, William Henry
Chiriquí (Panama : Province) -- Antiquities; Indian pottery -- Panama; Indians of Central America -- Panama
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:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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