In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

 N o t e s o n M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 8 September 25, 1942 a new Pottery Style from the department of Piura, Peru John Howland Rowe Several examples of a very curious ware have lately found their way into private collections in Peru. The known examples are vessels with double spout and bridge, with surface decoration in Mochica (Early Chimu) style of drawing but in polychrome. They come, moreover, from the Department of Piura, whence nothing earlier than Late Chimu has so far been reported. One perfect specimen belongs to Dr. V. T. De Vault, of the British American Hospital in Callao, who kindly permitted me to study it on two separate visits to Lima, in August 1939 and September 1941. The appearance of the piece and its peculiar character can be seen in the accompanying tracings and photograph [in Figure 8.1]. It is 15.3 cm high and 19.4 cm in greatest diameter between the tips of the spouts. The body is 8.5 cm high and 12.8 cm in greatest diameter. Thickness can only be approximated from the measurements of the handle (0.9 cm thick) and the spout tips (0.15 cm); these however are tapered, and, are much thicker farther down). The vessel is of fine redware, smoothed with a small tool, the marks of which can be seen on close examination, and is covered, except for the base, with a red-orange slip. The spouts are joined to the body by small shoulders and to each other by a ribbon handle. The body is perfectly circular, with a flat base which rounds up a little toward the edges, giving the effect of a rounded bottom although standing perfectly steady. The spouts do not whistle. The lower half of the body is undecorated except for a double black line dust under the break in the body outline, which belongs with the decoration of the upper half. The spouts and under side of the handle are also undecorated. The decoration on the upper half runs over onto the little shoulders of the spouts. The spouts divide the upper surface of the vessel roughly into two areas. In each of these is represented a small three-stepped platform with a human figure lying on it, feet stretched out, with four sticks or tubes in his right hand. The figures are identical, except for their heads and the tails flying from their belts. Around these figures and under the spouts are grouped maroon, yellow, and gray beans and little white spots to fill the space. There are also beans on top of the handle. Six colors are used: maroon, yellow , gray, black, white, and the red-orange slip. The masses of flat color are outlined with a medium-thick black line. The colors have all lasted well except the white, most of which has flaked off, though enough traces remain to permit restoration. In attempting to interpret the design, one is immediately reminded of Larco Hoyle’s suggestion that the Mochicas used different colored beans for messages, i.e. as a substitute for writing (Larco Hoyle 1938–1940:2:85–124, pls. 21 and 23). Ingenious as the suggestion is, however, it faces several serious difficulties; for example, the fact that he has found only one bean with markings on it, and that there is insufficient difference between the beans represented on any one Mochica pot to make it likely that they John hoWlAnd roWe  shape of handle and spout does not, of course, occur in Mochica). The later spouts are much longer, more conical, and spread wider apart, leaving room for a long, gracefully sweeping bridge handle. In contrast, Nazca spouts are short, stubby, and close set (Gayton and Kroeber 1927:35). The body shape, made in an upper and a lower half meeting at an angle in the middle of the body, occurs in Mochica (Schmidt 1929:20g, and example in Peabody Museum), but is rarely if ever found in Early Nazca. The color scheme of the Sullana pots fits best into the Early Nazca range (Kroeber and Strong 1925:106). Coastal Tiahuanaco uses some of the same colors, but I have not seen an example with more than five...

Share