XXVI Congreso Internacional de Americanistas

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of America, are mIsslllg in both, anct a closer study would doubtless
reveal certain Amazonian features common to both and missing in otber
parts. As regards tripod vessels in Santarem the ev idence is not clear.
They are not mentioned 01" figured by Nordenskiold and none exists in
the University Museum collection. H owever, in tbe lalter are man)'
examples of conical objccts, evi(lently broken from vessets, that have
every appearance of having beentripod feet, thougb they might conceivably
be parts oí ornamental relief. In the majority of cases these are
hollow, pierced by a hole. and the point is turned over in a semicirele or
scrol!. Santarem ceramies show analogies wi:b Marajo Island, with the
Tainan Arawak pottery of the Antilles, and with certain types of ware
in the Nicaraglla-Panam3 region, and it would be diffieult (O say with
whieh of the three the resemblances are c1oser. '\lVith the Antilles it
shares the eommon features of predominance of unpainted ware, broad
flat trays, elongated winged vases, eonstricted necks, horizontal loop
handles, incised decora tions of lines and dots, and full-round animal
I"elid decoration; :with the lsthlllian region it shares the features oi
female figurines of "archaic" forms, figurine whisvles, flaring ring bases,
spool-shaped bases, earyatid figures, figures bearing others on their
backs, and full-rollnd animal relief decoration.
Santarem pottery, as at present known, may not be a homogeneous unit,
and future studies may show that tbese Antillean and Isthmian affinities
belong to different cultural horizons or to different geographical centers.
Our researches however have not been able to indicate that slleh
is the case, or to separate wares showing one 'complex of characters from
those showing the other. Most ceramies types show features pointing
towards both regions. Some of the resemblanees towards both regions,
however, are so close that it is impossible not to condude that cultural
connections existed at certain periods '\·¡;ith both the Antilles and with
southern Central America.
N ordenskiüld noted rhe Santarem resemblanees as being particularly
close to Chiriqui; this was probably owing to the faet that he was. more
famiEar with Chiriqui Panama speeimens than with Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
The affinities are greater with tbe Jatter region, especially with
the Pacific Coast and the Nicoya Peninsula. I might mention tbat the
Tairona Culture 'of Sanla Marta, Colombia, also sbows many points of
similarly with ths region.