The legs are very generally modeled to represent animal forms. In a majority of cases the fish was chosen because, perhaps, its shape was suitable or because the fish bore some relation to the use to which the vessel was to be devoted. Lizards and mammals are also seen and the human form occasionally appears. In some cases the animal figure is attached to the upper part of the leg or is perched upon the hip, where that feature is pronounced. The body, or shaft, is hollow and contains pellets of clay, sometimes one only and again a dozen or more, and in order that these may be seen and heard variously shaped slits are cut in the sides or front of the legs. If the animal represented is a fish or lizard the entire body is modeled: the head is placed at the top, the under jaw or neck uniting with the body of the vessel; the tail rests upon the ground, and the fins or legs appear along the sides of the shaft. It should be observed that, while in Chiriqui the whole body of the creature is usually employed in forming the support, in Central America and Mexico the head alone is very generally used, the nose resting upon the ground. In less elaborate forms the legs are plain or have the merest hint of animal form in a node, a notched ridge, or a slightly modified extremity.
Handles are present in a majority of cases and as in the preceding group take the form of loops or represent the forms of animals. The loops are generally attached in a vertical position, connecting the shoulder with the lip of the vessel, and are plain round ropes of clay or consist of two or three cords twisted or plaited together. A few eccentric forms occur and are illustrated early in this section.
The animal shapes are often quite elaborate and appear to bear no relation to the creatures embodied in the legs of the vessel; neither does the position of the handles bear any uniform relation to the positions of the legs—another indication that the latter features are recent acquisitions, since features developed together are uniformly well adjusted.
The rim or lip is generally heavy and flaring, and the neck, which is short and pretty sharply constricted, is decorated with incised patterns and with various applied ornaments in relief. The body is graceful in outline and more or less conical below. As a rule the surface is uneven and but slightly polished and the figures in red are rudely executed, but in the more pretentious pieces much care has been exercised in finishing and painting. Most of the vessels have been used over the fire and still retain the sooty incrustations. This ware comes from a wide range of territory to the north and west of David.
The following illustrations represent some of the more important
pieces and serve to give a partial idea of the range of form, size, and decoration.
I present, first, three vases of rather eccentric shapes, the basins of which are shallow and in two cases are flat bottomed. The handles are of unusual shapes, consisting of modifications of the lip, as seen in the illustrations (Figs. 140-142). Life elements are present in all cases in connection with the handles and legs where these are preserved, but they are very meager and so abbreviated as to be identified with difficulty. Incised markings at the ends of the handles represent hands or feet and eyes are affixed to the upper part of the legs. The ware is identical with that of the preceding group.
