Fig. 96.—Series of derivatives of the alligator, showing stages of simplification, Chiriqui; after Holmes.
Fig. 97.—Series of alligator derivatives, showing modification through use in narrow zones, Chiriqui; after Holmes.
Mr. Holmes also points out that the Chiriqui have arrived at the scroll and fret by way of the alligator. I can here illustrate only two of these (Figs. [98], [99]); in these the body of the reptile is the element of the design. In other cases Mr. Holmes finds that parts of the creature, such as head, feet, eye, or scales, assume the role of radicles, and pass through a series of modification ending in purely geometrical devices.
Fig. 98.—Scroll derived from the body-line of the alligator, Chiriqui; after Holmes.