The times., 1901-05-26
ANTIQUITIES FROM PERU
Relics Acquired by the New York
Natural History Museum.
Prehistoric Pottery md Mortuary
Curiosities - Interesting Handi-
work of the Land of the Incas-
Odd ReceptacIes for Kechua Beer.

Odd Receptacics for Kechua Beer.
! One Of the most recent and most valua-
! BILE acquisitions of the American Museum
of Natural History is a collection of pre-
historic Peruvian antiquities purchased
from DR.. Gaffron, a private collector in
| Lima. These articles came from burial
places. and represent the handiwork and
customs of the race over which the Incas
ruled. That nation-the Kechuas-occu-
pied more extensive region than modern
Peru, and although its civilization did not
! reach so high a level as that Of the
Mayas, perhaps, it was unique and sur
! prlsmS in many particulars When Pi-
J zarro invaded Cuzco in 1927 the Incas had
! held sway for at least three hundred
! years. Hence the newly acquired mate
| rial at the Museum dates back centuries.
! ana possibly one thousand or more years.
! Nearly three-quarters Of the collection
/ mas been transferred TO the hall of South
American antiquities for exhibition, al
! though its present arrangement is tenn
/ porary.
! The upper garment of @the Kechuas
cdiled a poncho, was merely 4 broad strip
! OF cloth, with Il slit for the head, and
( hanging down in front and behind in such
( a way as TO leave the arms free Occa-
Slonaliy short sleeves We're added The
I humber classes wore ponchos of cotton
/ Those of high officials were made from
/ ~
| the wool OF a species of alpaca goat the
! Nlcuua, dyed and otherwise oruarnented
No less than twenty-eight vicuna wool
! pohchoS nave been added to the museum s
stores of Peruvian antiquities And these
snow that textile art had attained high
state or development, Notwithstanding the
singularly rude shape of the garments
The hues employed are brilliant yellows.
reds, blues blacks, and combinations of
the primary colors. And these have pre-
served their freshness through all these
4 z9lal ma
over, the goods are true tapestries and
not woven in the ordinary manner
Inc products of Kechua hand looms
are accompanied by number of the
looms themselves, with unfinished fabrics
on them These are of various sizes, some
being small enough TO manufacture belts
for the waist. simple mechanism of
this sort, with few inches of woven ma
terial-the incomplete work of a dying
woman-waS often entombed with her.
The looms attract almost as much atten-
ton from visitors as the fabrics.
GAUDY FEATHER ADoRNMENTs.
The most remarkable ponchos in the
collection, however have their surfaces
adorned with colored feathers, undoubted-
ly taken from parrots. One of these gar
ments is chiefly Of bright yellow. with
a broad geometrical design in black for
a border. Another is of yellow and red
An attempt has been made to work out
examination one can detect traces of raw
ages of moths on these feathered ponchos.
Without especially keen scrutiny one can
also recognize more or less elaborate
darninS on the woven garments. One fine
specimen IN TINS class OF objects is q
Vlcuna wool poncho, with feather trim
ming, and adorned further with thin sill
YER disks about five inches across. A rush
work basket containing spindles bearing
thread of at least twenty different shades
tells an interesting story of taste and
skill and industry Interrupted by death.
The civilization OF the kechuas prob
ably had no more interesting feature than
their method Of keeping accounts and rec
ords. They had no written language.
They used lunches Of knotted string,
called "quipoos, instead. Archaeoiogists
uiifer III their Interpretation of these curl
Gus articles, some believing that elabor-
ate histories were embodied in these knot
ted CORDS, while others are more conserv-
atiye in their notions on the subject. 1t
seems to be granted, however, that each
OF the various colors in 'quipoO had it's
own Significance apart from the number
and position of the knots. And it IS be-
HeYed that the keeper Of the ''quipoOs'
was public official. Several Of these rec
ords. were secured by the Museum Of Ma
tural History by the recent purchase.
As might be expected the GafTon col
lection contains good deal of pottery,
and nearly every specimen is sufficiently
typical to have special Value.-The old
FeruVlans were unacqUainted with the
potters wheel and yet were able TO pro-
duce number of very shapely vessels,
although they closely approached the
grotesQUe at times in their endeavors to
initiate birds. bats. lamas, cats, and
human beings. They did not understand
the art of glazing, either. But after
shaping, painting. and firing their vessels
they often rubbed them up until they de-
Yeloped an appreciable polish.
Some of the vessels just secured were
made for purely utiiitarian purposes.
There are several big receptacles for
kechua beer. for instance, one of them
capable of holding two or three barrels
at least. The beer Of the old PeruVians.
1t may be remarked, was not made of
barley or hops; and glucose and arsenic
seem to have been unknown in their day.
This beverage was manufactured from
matted corn, and was named "chica."
One of the most elaborate bits OF pot
feTy from Peru is small representa- tion
OF two story turret, with staircase on |
the outside and hSman figures on TOP.
Whether the edifce which is thus copied |
was meant for military, scientific aor |
ceremonial purposes It would be hard to |
say another piece shows two men carry |
ing on their shoulders a rod that supports |
the body of a child prepared for burial. |
a human bust is interesting, not simply |
as a fair sort Of sculpture. but as Illus |
trating the way in which ear ornaments |
were worn.
1t is possible to discover suggestions of |
humor or ingenious tricks In some of |
those fabrications in clay. A small, near |
~ spherical vessel is decorated to resem- |
bic a skull, q semblance of a face being |
wrought on IHe front ana the SutureS of /
a human Uranium being indicated by col |
oTed lines on the back. Then there were |
whistling jars, small clay bottles made |
IN pairs and provided with whistles that |
became audible when the receptacIee were |
moved to and fro in a certain manner
Mods have been found which were |
employed by the old Peruvians in giving |
to plastic material the forms Of birds |
monkeys and men, thus simplifying the
task OF manufacture. Subsequent cary
ing and stamping seem TO have been nee
essary at times TO complete the article |
made.
Although the old Peruvians decorated
their pottery by painting and sculpture
there is reason TO believe that they re- |
sorted TO a hot poker or some other
on less durable material. A vessel made
from gourds and adorned by burning is
TO be found in the Gaffron collection.
a class OF objects which were common |
among the hechuaS were tiny images |
which served as deities. These were NOT |
the subjects Of worship on stated occa-
sions, but had much the value of charms
against special maladies or danger. When |
the DosSessor died they were buried with
him
The Kechuas prepared their dead for
burial without chemicals. The air of the |
country was dry enough to preserve a
body without such did II shrank, but did |
not decay. The body was arranged in a |
sitting posture, with the knees and hands |
drawn Up to the chin. Several layers of |
cloth were wound around IT. and these
were fastened with a sort of network or |
with plain cord. A painted or carved
mask, or false head" was placed over
the face. A ueCIkIace Of heads or iarvaIr,r |