Chapter III: Introduction (2)

The collections of ethnologic and archæologic material made during the year are of unusual importance and magnitude. This is chiefly due to the facilities afforded by the New Orleans Exposition fund, a liberal portion of which was devoted to the collection and purchase of objects of permanent value to the Government and to science. The collections made by Mr. Stevenson in Zuñi and Acoma comprise upward of four thousand pieces, chiefly objects of clay, but including other classes of products. The collection of prehistoric relics obtained by Mr. J. A. McNiel from the tombs of Chiriqui is one of the most important and complete series of ancient American products to be found in any country, and must prove of great value to students.

Mr. Victor Mindeleff secured a small series of relics from the ancient ruins of northern New Mexico and Arizona, and Dr. H. C. Yarrow added some objects of archæologic and ethnologic interest from central Utah. Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith procured a number of articles of shell, illustrating the modern manufacture of wampum in New Jersey; a small collection of fragmentary pottery from the eastern shore of Maryland was presented by Mr. Joseph D. McGuire, of Ellicott City; and Mr. Holmes secured a series of articles, including arrowheads, shell implements, and pottery, from the island of Nantucket. Mound explorations, conducted by Dr. Cyrus Thomas, yielded a valuable series of objects of stone and clay. An unusually interesting series of the earthen vessels of the ancient pueblo races was secured by Mr. E. W. Nelson in eastern central Arizona. The greater part of the abovementioned material has already been catalogued and turned over to the U. S. National Museum.

Dr. H. C. YARROW, acting assistant surgeon, U. S. Army, besides his field explorations described, continued to collect information relative to the mortuary customs of North American Indians. Of the material gathered, a considerable portion has been forwarded by various persons throughout the country in answer to the circular sent out early in the last year, but much has also been derived from the published works on anthropologic subjects, including scientific journals and reports. Numerous authorities have been consulted and much time has been devoted to the consideration of the many theories advanced to account for certain peculiar rites and customs.

Mr. CHARLES C. ROYCE continued during the year the preparation of a historical atlas of Indian cessions. The boundaries of the various cessions of land by the different Indian tribes were traced out and located upon the maps of the States and Territories left uncompleted at the date of the last annual report. All that remains to be done in completing the atlas for publication is to transcribe, with considerable elaboration, the historical and descriptive notes pertaining to the various cessions, and to make, from the rough working sheets, legible copies of the maps showing the boundaries of the cessions within the States of California, Oregon, Nevada, and Texas and the Territories of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Dakota. Most of these States and Territories will each require two maps, showing respectively the primary and secondary cessions. The work will be finished as rapidly as possible.

ACCOMPANYING PAPERS.

The present volume contains papers the subject matter of which may be classified under the grand divisions of Technology, Philosophy, Sociology, and Ethnography.

They are all prepared by experts of recognized authority in their several lines of research and are illustrated to the degree required by the text for full understanding, the number of figures presented being 548, besides ten full page plates. Special mention of each of these papers follows in their order as printed.

ANCIENT ART OF THE PROVINCE OF CHIRIQUI, COLOMBIA, BY
WILLIAM H. HOLMES.

The archæology of Chiriqui should be studied, not only for comparison with that of the territory comprised in the present political divisions of North America, but because geographically the province should be considered as a part of the North American continent. Until recently this isthmian region was little known, the explorations for railroads and canals having furnished the first valuable accounts of its modern inhabitants and the relics left by former occupants.

The National Museum now contains a large and precious collection of archæologic material from the province, chiefly obtained by Mr. J. A. McNiel during years of enthusiastic labor. The information derived and the lessons to be learned from this collection, together with all particulars relating thereto gathered from other sources, are now presented in this paper by Mr. W. H. Holmes. His work in the classification of the immense number of objects and in the elucidation of their functions, material, construction, forms, and decorations has been careful and comprehensive. His manifest success has been owing to his artistic insight and skill as well as to his archæologic training. His ability in both fields can be appreciated by an examination of the 287 illustrations in his paper, considered not only as to their number, but as to their instructive arrangement in his text.

The objects of ancient art found in Chiriqui are, as elsewhere in North America, derived almost entirely from graves. The cemeteries, apart from their contents and the mode of sepulture, constitute in themselves topics of interest which are discussed and illustrated in the paper. Another curious feature is that the objects buried generally appear to have been manufactured for mortuary purposes and not for use by the living. A general review of the contents of the graves shows that the ancient inhabitants were skillful in the manipulation of stone, gold, copper, and clay, and tombs of undoubtedly great antiquity yield evidence of long continued culture.

It also appears that, while the art of the old peoples of the isthmus can in some respects be connected with that of adjacent regions in North America, in others it is remarkable for individuality. Ornaments of stone were seldom used by them and those of gold and copper were common. The articles of gold which the graves have yielded in large quantities to explorers during the last quarter of a century, and for which only they have until recently been searched, have generally been considered to be mere ornaments, but they probably had a fetichistic origin.

It is remarkable that no weapon, tool, or utensil of metal has been noticed. The objects were generally formed by casting in molds, which was done with considerable skill, and gilding, or at least plating, was practiced. The art of alloying also appears to have been understood.

The use of metals does not appear early in the order of technology, and an advanced degree of culture is generally attained before the casting of any metal is attempted. Without allowing too much weight to any argument based upon the surprising skill of these people in plating and alloying, the evidence of technical skill in general, together with the conceptions embodied in their art, proves conclusively that it was the product of a long period of experiment and progress.

The pottery of Chiriqui is to be noted for the perfection of its technique, its high specialization of form, and its conventional use of a wide range of decorative motives. Its forms present many striking analogies to the wheel made ware of the Mediterranean, regarded as classic.

The mythologic stage of the builders of these graves is shown by the fact that in their ceramic art there is no attempt to render the human face or figure with accuracy. The personages of their religious philosophy were zoömorphic and some of their forms may be discerned by a skillful analyst in or on all the ornaments and vessels. On each of the latter all decorative devices and delineations have some reference to the mythic creature associated with the vessel and its functions.

Mr. Holmes has made an important discovery in the evolution of decoration in Chiriqui from which are deduced instructive generalizations of wide application. All the decorations originate (doubtless under the influence of the stage reached in mythologic philosophy) in life forms of animals, none being vegetal. Coming from mythologic concepts they are significant and ideographic, and coming from nature they are primarily imitative and non-geometric. Nevertheless the agencies of modification inherent in the practice of art through its mechanical conditions are such that the animal forms early employed have changed into conventional decorative devices, among which are the meander, scroll, fret, chevron, and guilloche.

That this was the course of evolution of the classic forms of ornaments is not asserted; indeed, it is not necessary to form such a hypothesis, as by the interacting principles, well classified by Mr. Holmes, the course by which the same result was accomplished may have been wholly diverse. It is, however, shown that this was in all probability the particular and independent course in one region of America, being in that respect in distinct contrast to other art regions, such as that of the Pueblos, where the rise of geometric figures through technologic channels is equally obvious. It follows that in seeking to divide peoples by the criteria of their decorative arts the examination must embrace what is far more fundamental than a mere comparison of their finished products: these may be and are markedly similar without any evidence of transmission, and when in fact by deeper study the ascertained separate courses of development preclude such transmission.

A STUDY OF THE TEXTILE ART IN ITS RELATION TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF FORM AND ORNAMENT, BY W. H. HOLMES.

For several years Mr. Holmes has been engaged in the study of the ancient and existing art of the North American Indians, and has published in the annual reports of this Bureau a number of elaborate essays upon the art of specified peoples and regions.

In the present paper he submits the comprehensive results of his studies in one great branch, the textile art, and treats chiefly of its esthetic relations as distinct from those of construction and function, so far as they can be separately discussed.

He has been fortunate in the character of the material studied. In America there is yet found a great body of primitive, indigenous, and independent art, almost uncontaminated by the complex phenomena, processes, and conditions which elsewhere obscure its origin and development. To a knowledge of American art acquired by long study Mr. Holmes adds a mental equipment exceptionally qualifying him for its philosophic discussion. His conclusions therefore, presented with ample evidence and explained by illustrations, are to be received as those of a recognized authority, although they may disturb some sentimental and metaphysical fancies concerning abstract beauty in form, color, and design.

It is not contended that the earliest concepts of beauty originated with textile art. On the contrary, it is probable that the first esthetic attempts were in the line of personal decoration, such as paints on the skin and pendants and feathers disposed about the person. But as the textile art appears early and widely in culture it is believed that the association of esthetic concepts with it very generally preceded their association with other arts. Having thus the start in the field, its nature was full of suggestions of embellishment, while it was fixed in its method of expression. The technique therefore shaped and directed the esthetic concept and became the parent of much geometric ornament.

Mr. Holmes gives an instructive analysis of the forces and influences inherent in the textile art, the first lessons of which are order, uniformity, and symmetry; he shows how the necessities of technique determine ideas of the beautiful in linear geometric forms and how taste in selecting certain ornaments as the most beautiful is simply choosing that product which in the evolution of art gave it character and power.

The influence of textile ornament upon other forms of art, such as architecture and sculpture, is discussed, as also the manner in which extrinsic decorative elements are remodeled in accordance with the rules of textile combination. The paper, however, does not undertake to cover the whole field of the development of form and ornament, being confined to the relation of the textile art thereto, and similar studies in all other grand divisions of art must be made before the relative importance of all their forces and tendencies can be estimated. But the laws of evolution in all art closely correspond, and the present paper is eminently instructive to all students of the esthetic.

AIDS TO THE STUDY OF THE MAYA CODICES, BY CYRUS THOMAS.

That Prof. Cyrus Thomas has long been engaged in the examination of the few Maya records in existence is known from his former works, "A study of the Manuscript Troano" and "Notes on certain Maya and Mexican manuscripts," both published by the Bureau of Ethnology.

The object of the present paper is to give information of some original discoveries and to present some explanations not brought forward by Professor Thomas in his former papers.

The records of Maya and Mexico yet challenge students with unsolved problems similar to those which in the writings of Egypt and Assyria have perplexed so many generations. The translation of the paleographic literature of this continent may be expected to throw light on the past of America, in some degree reproducing the brilliant result which has attended the translation of the hieroglyphs of the eastern hemisphere. Long and laborious comparisons, together with the trial of successive hypotheses, will be necessary to the decipherment of our aboriginal manuscripts, and but few competent persons are actively engaged in the work. It becomes, therefore, the duty of any one whose discoveries tend to clear up even minor points of the great problem to furnish them to his fellow laborers, and thereby limit the remaining field of investigation. In this paper Professor Thomas supplements his former work.

OSAGE TRADITIONS, BY REV. J. OWEN DORSEY.

This paper contains an account of a secret society of seven degrees, still existing among the Osage, in which the traditions of the people have been preserved. The author, by his skill and personal influence, has obtained and now furnishes two of these traditions in the original language, with an interlinear and a free translation of each and with explanatory remarks.

The traditions are both cosmologic and sociologic, and are admirable examples of Indian philosophy. The existence of secret associations, periodically celebrating religious mysteries, and of shamanistic orders, which, by ceremonies, pictographs, and chants, have preserved in more or less purity the traditions of their ancestors, has been vaguely known for some years, but until lately no accurate or indeed intelligent account of them has been secured.

The exertions of several of the officers of this Bureau have been successful in obtaining full details and clear explanations both of the traditions and the ceremonials of several of the Indian tribes, notably those of the Zuñi and the Navajo, published in former annual reports. The present paper by Mr. Dorsey takes an important place in this new collection of materials for the study of Indian philosophy, from which valuable results have been already acquired.

THE CENTRAL ESKIMO, BY DR. FRANZ BOAS.

For the express purpose of personal exploration and examination, the author of this important paper spent a considerable time in the region of which he treats. His course of travel was to Cumberland sound and Davis strait. The grand division of the Eskimauan linguistic family, inhabiting nearly the whole range of the Arctic-American coast, which has been classed as Central Eskimo, occupies the northeastern part of the continent and the eastern islands of the Arctic-American archipelago. It inhabits, at Smith sound, the most northern countries in which man has been known to dwell. Its southern and western boundaries are about Fort Churchill, the middle part of Back river, and the coast west of Adelaide peninsula.

Dr. Boas gives an admirable account of the topography of the region and of the distribution, tribal divisions, and numbers of the inhabitants. His work is replete with valuable statements in minute detail and with acute suggestions regarding their habits and customs. Their peculiar and ingenious weapons, implements, and utensils are fully described and illustrated. His account of their religious practices and beliefs, supplemented by translations of their myths and legends, is equally entertaining and instructive.

In connection with his observations made through original research, Dr. Boas presents the result of a close study and analysis of the work of former explorers in this field, by which his contribution to the study of this interesting hyperborean people will command additional attention.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

_Table showing amounts appropriated and expended for North American
ethnology for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1885._

──────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┬───────────── Expenses. │ Amounts │ Amount │ expended. │appropriated. ──────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────── A. Services │ $30,433.55│ B. Traveling expenses │ 3,716.14│ C. Transportation of property │ 354.12│ D. Field subsistence │ 198.42│ E. Field supplies and expenses │ 535.45│ F. Field material │ 197.71│ G. Instruments │ 49.25│ H. Modeling material │ 40.11│ I. Photographic material │ 306.71│ K. Books and maps │ 355.85│ L. Stationery and drawing material │ 15.70│ M. Illustrations for reports │ 668.64│ N. Articles for distribution to Indians │ 23.69│ O. Office furniture │ 59.67│ P. Office supplies and repairs │ 36.61│ Q. Manuscripts │ 395.00│ R. Correspondence │ 15.43│ S. Specimens │ 71.00│ T. Collection of material for │ 1,326.61│ classification of the Indians in│ │ the United States │ │ Balance on hand to meet outstanding │ 1,200.34│ liabilities │ │ ──────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────── │ 40,000.00│ $40,000.00 ──────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────

ACCOMPANYING PAPERS.

INDEX.

A.

Page.

Acoma, collections of J. Stevenson from XLIX

Adelung, J. C., cited 262

Adlet and Qadlunait, origin of the 637

Adlet or Erqigdlit 640

Aggomiut Eskimo tribe, situation and subdivisions of 442-444

Aglio, Augustina, fac simile of Dresden Codex by 263-266

Agutit Eskimo tribe, situation of 450, 451

Aivillirmiut Eskimo tribe, situation of 445-450

Akudnirmiut Eskimo tribe, situation of 440-442

Akuliarmiut Eskimo tribe, situation of 421

Alaskan Indians, illustration of ornamentation by 199

Alligator, utilization of, in Chiriquian art 130-140, 166,
173-176, 178,
80, 183

American Museum of Natural History, acknowledgments to 409

[American Museum of Natural History], figured specimens 472, 517
from

Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, paper by W. H. 13-187
Holmes on

Ancon, Peru, examples of ornamentation from graves at 212, 230, 231,
236, 243, 248

Anderson and Stewart, cited 458, 459

Apache, illustrations of ornamentation by 198, 213, 223

Ardnainiq, fabulous tribe in Eskimo tradition 640

Arrowpoints and spearheads of Chiriqui 34

B.

Back, cited 485

Baffin Land, description of 415, 416

[Baffin Land], distribution of tribes in 421-444

[Baffin Land], traditions of, with comparisons 641-643

Balboa, ornaments captured by 35

Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie etc., 409, 616
Verhandlungen der, cited

Bessels, Emil, cited 412, 460, 486

Bibliography of the Languages of the North American XXIV-XXVI
Indians

Bickford, F. T., field work of XXVIII

Bill Nix (W. P. Matthews), Osage traditions dictated by 377

Black incised group of Chiriquian pottery 80

Boas, F., remarks on paper respecting Central Eskimo by LVI, LVII

[Boas, F.], paper on Central Eskimo by 399-669

Bollaert, W., cited 41, 45

Boothia Felix and Back River, tribes of 452-459

Böttiger, C. A., mention of Dresden Codex by 262

[Böttiger, C. A.], controversy with Abert concerning 267
Dresden Codex

Brasseur, copy of the Manuscript Troano by 284, 286, 343

[Brasseur], cited 350

British Guiana Indians, illustrations of ornamentation 217
by