Mr. Merritt states that human hair was obtained from graves at Bugaba, and that he has himself secured the enamel of a molar tooth from that locality. De Zeltner tells us that in three varieties of graves remains of skeletons are found, always, however, in a very fragile condition. One skull was obtained of sufficient stability to be cast in plaster, but De Zeltner is not certain that it belonged to the people who built the tombs.
Mr. McNiel reports the occasional finding of bones, and a number of bundles of them are included in his collection. He reports that there are no crania and that nothing could be determined as to the position of the bodies when first buried.
Pinart observes that in some cases the bodies or remnants of bodies were distributed about the margin of the pit bottom, with the various utensils in the center, and again that the remains were laid away in niches dug in the sides of the main pit.
These scattering observations will serve to give a general idea of the modes of sepulture practiced in this region, but there must be a closer record of localities and a careful correlation of the varying phenomena of inhumation before either ethnology or archaeology can be greatly benefited.
[ PLACING OF RELICS.]
The pieces of pottery, implements, and ornaments were probably buried with the dead, pretty much as are similar objects in other parts of America. The almost total disappearance of the human remains makes a determination of exact relative positions impossible. The universal testimony, however, is that all were not placed with the body, but that some were added as the grave was filled up, being placed in the crevices of the walls or pillars or thrown in upon the accumulating earth and pebbles of the surface pavement. The heavy implements of stone are rarely very far beneath the surface.
[OBJECTS OF ART.]
From the foregoing account it is apparent that our knowledge of the art of ancient Chiriqui must for the present be derived almost entirely from the contents of the tombs. The inhabitants were skillful in the employment and the manipulation of stone, clay, gold, and copper; and the perfection of their work in these materials, taken in connection with the construction of their remarkable tombs, indicates a culture of long standing and a capacity of no mean order.
Of their architecture, agriculture, or textile art we can learn little or nothing.
The relics represented in the collection of the National Museum consist chiefly of articles of stone, gold, copper, and clay.