The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1879-08-16
ANCIENT GRAVES.


spread UTsOH bHS SXllDIbfOn b&Dje at tht
academy of sciences, last evening, wer.
about one hundred pieces of pottery
cough and glazed. and few frogs worked
in gold. The articles formed part of q
collection of from !, 500 to 1,s00 pieces
exhumed from prehistoric graves about
the slope of Chiriqui, q mountain In
Central America, by Mr.. Mcneil. They
are now in the possession of Mr.. John s.
Iamson, of this city, with the exception
of some few pieces which have passed
into the hands of Prof. Marsh, at Yale
college, and are now incorporated with
the Yale museum, of which Prot. Marsh
has more than any other one man con-
tributed to the creation. Among the
distinguished antiquzriAns present was
Prof. Putnam, of Harvard university,
who has given the collection q careful
examination, and he gave the academy
LAST night the benefit of his memoranda
MI. LRmson's paper was devoted in the
mRin to reading of some notes by Mr..
McNeill ON the remains and the manner
of their occurrence. The graves cover
many acres (eVen many square miles) at
the base of Chiriqui near the coast, living
for the most part beneath many feet of
aLuvial deposit. No external mgn marks
the place of one of these tombs, but the
natives find them readily by sounding
the soft earth with long iron reds,
which yibrate when they come in con-
tset with the fat stones with which
they are covered. Some of them are oh.
long in shape, like modern graves, but by
isz the greater part are nearly circular.
The walls are Of smooth sea-worn stones,
of kind not at present existing in the
naighborhcod, and the first slabs that
cover them have been brought obviously
from great distance, rs no such mate
rial exists in the vicinity. 1t has not
BEEN discovered that these tombs are
arranged with any regard to special
order, but there is some sort of evidence
that the larger ones have been reopened
for the reception of bodies from time to
time, down to date of comparative
regency.
The implements exhumed consist, In
the 6rst instance, of knives and rude
weapons of stone, together with polish |
Stones, obviously used to smooth the
surface of the pottery. The latter shows
great many interesting forms, most
commonof which is the jar, very pointed
at the bottom, with IN extremely marrow
neok, and mot very inelining lips. They |
vary in proportions from jars having |
capacity of Less than pint to those
capable of holding two quarts.
The ruder specimens rest upon
tripods, while the more highly
ornamented have no legs. and must have ,
bsen somewhat ineonyenient fossils
to handle. The coarser pottery is not |
decorated In colon. The top is bordered
with an ornamental design cut In or In
eissd 30 as to resemble the modern
stamp, and there are attempts at &gure.
work, the principal animals being the
frog, the OWLS face, according to some,
cougars according to other critics, and
the monkey; although Prof Putnam |
thinks that these so.oslled monkeys are
ride representations of the human form.
The collection has also some very |
curious representations sof birds, (which |
are ornamented with ned strips upon |
black ground The iatter are Hollow
within and perforated at the tail, at the 4
bill, and beneath the wings 90 as to be
used as whistles to initiate the notes Of /
birds, and to produce different musieal
notes by closing one or another Of the
a2e-tnses With the fingers. Their use
unless to attract birds by imitsting their
notes. is doubtful The legs Of ths tri-
pods are heavy, pod shaped, and hollow,
containing within several bsllsof pottery, !
and furnished with . slit like OLD
fashioned aleighibells. Their sound,
when shaken, is similar to that of o
ratsleibox, but it il sesroely credible thst
they were used forthatpurPose, although |
there are several pottery Eattle-boxss In |
the collection. Prof Putnam entered
Hpon very elaborate COM
parison Of these remains with the
Mexioan, Peruvian, and taose of the
monnd1builders, who, it appears, had 8
similar trick of following out their
aripods. and furnishing them with noye