Indians of Central America -- Nicaragua -- Antiquities; Nicaragua -- Antiquities
_Zapatera_ exhibits an abundant variety of beautiful scenery,
delightful valleys, watered by streams and rivulets, fertile
elevated plains, magnificent mountain-cones, clothed in verdure to
the very summits, and bays and lagoons offering excellent harbours.
Unfortunately I had not an opportunity of examining, in an archæologic
point of view, more than a part of the north side of the island and
the islet of Ceiba. My kind hosts of the settlement in the island, Don
JOSÉ LOBO, Donna JULIA SOLORZANO, S:rita VIRGINIA MORA, Don JACINTO
MORA and others, zealously assisted me in my zoological as well as
archæological investigations. Through their warm-hearted benevolence
my stay in Zapatera became the most pleasant remembrance of my long
journey.
The results of my antiquarian researches in _Zapatera_ may be referred
to three stations: 1:0. The first station is _Punta del Sapote_; the
extreme north-western point of the island, where statues, potteries,
and stone relics were found. This station is beyond all comparison
the most important one, because it has never, as far as I know, been
examined, nor even mentioned. It possesses so much greater importance,
as several statues were found in their original position, thus
affording an insight into the manner how they were used. 2:0. The
second station is _Punta de las Figuras_. It forms part of the edge of
the crater, sloping softly towards the lake, between Laguna de Apoyo
and Bahia de Chiquero. It has been previously visited by SQUIER, who
has given figures of several of the statues. Besides those mentioned
by him, many of which I did not find, I lighted upon some that had
escaped his attention. In this locality only insignificant remains of
pottery were met with. 3:0. The third station is the little island
of _Ceiba_, which, instead of statues, that are wanting, offers some
very well preserved rock-carvings of evidently very ancient date, and,
besides, valuable relics of earthen-ware and stone. Although my visit
to Zapatera was posterior in time to my stay in Ometepec, I shall begin
the detailed description of the antiquities with those of the first
station in Zapatera.
[Illustration]
I
STATUES IN PUNTA DEL SAPOTE.
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