golden relics R elies of old race discovery of ornaments and trinkets ofia long 0 past period has aroused archeologists archaeologists to i speculation as to the makers four or five fire years ago several poor and ignorant natives were poling their way in a canoe up the rio grande de code cocle a large river in western panama about 00 miles south couth of the panama canal the dry season had lo lowered ered the river As the small craft made its way upstream the keen eyes of one of the natives noted something glittering in the bank in a few minutes greedy hands were tearing at the soil tor for they had found pieces of gold tile the fact that the gold articles were objects of art beaten into curious and beautiful shapes shades by hands long dead did not interest the nat batles les but it did interest scientists when word of the find came to the peabody museum of Il harvard arvard university a party of archaeologists archeologists went down to investigate the scientists worked in secret for three years and have now returned with a store of 0 gold objects worth a kings ransom in the opinion of dr S K lothrop leader of t the expedition they represent tile the art of a civil civilization lAtion in panama that kas has hitherto been unknown to science I 1 I 1 the chance which bro brought uffit scientists to the spot was due to a 8 shift la a the bod bed of the rio de code cocle in clia changing nging its course the cut through an ancient burying place the gold ornaments which excited the interest of the natives were part of t the fun cral dress dresa of some long forgotten chieftain buried not only WILI ILl s richest possessions of metal and lottery ruthea 1 but t also by Ms its wives retainers serva servants fits and eta slaves yes the abunda abundance clee of similar nis made by the peabody museum party I 1 C its precedent describing the results of the expedition recently au the new times magazine doctor Loth lothrop rol reported that from one grave alone measuring sn no more than 12 by 1 af feet diore m ore than 2000 objects were removed the grave contained a score of bodle bodies laid our III rowston massive stone piled t 03 of f gold including four 1 heavy pend ants set with semiprecious semi precious stones eix gold necklaces containing thousands of beads tour four large and heavily embossed sed golden discs twenty sight eight discs about 3 inches wide which bad once been sewn on a shirt four bf gold cuffs and twenty tour four rods of gold with decorated tips tor for insertion in the ears cars there were pottery vessels both for domestic service and for re birgious offerings there were 67 57 faone axes and chisels five gold chisels 21 stone knives 10 stone jarrow arrow points nine mirrors ot of hematite set in limestone discs pendants pennants pend ants and beads of agate statuettes carved from the ribs of tile the manatee or sell sea cow some of them overlaid with gold wild boars baars tusks set in gold ray spines and sawfish saw fish teeth hecth used as ab spear points sharks tooth necklaces crystals glided gilded copper or ina ments and many other objects such sullila Su clila i 11 latt t gives but a pale picture bt bf ithe the 1 j ealley ll 11 said bald doctor Lothrop rT i gold does not tarnish in the earth anait appeared gleaming in iettie 6 our u r knives and brushes removed da tiie the accumulated layers of dirt intricate designs beaten in high relief met the eye huge breastplates breast plates embossed with mythological monsters on gold cuffs running la in sheets from wrist to elbow each pair stamped with a distinctive design or property mark corresponding to our coat of arms complex castings of strange anthropomorphic gods fashioned in molds over delicate models in wax was the tidiness richness variety and fine workmanship of those these possessions indicate that a well est established ab 11 shed wealthy and highly organized culture produced them doctor lothrop and his associates believe from a study of the relies relics that the panama peoples were unrelated in culture either cither to their neighbors the mayas and aztecs azteca to the northwest or the incas to the south in short the discovery of these graves has brought to light remains of a hitherto unknown american civilization as great and amdor taut an its ottay av any of tile the others s who were these people histories Ills relate that a party of spaniards in search of gold left the coast of pan awn anin in 1315 1515 moving inland they came to a district ruled by a powerful chief named barita parita In rita iho by a stratagem administered such a crushing detent defeat to the spaniards that they were driven off several years later a band of spaniards searching for him found his body elaborately elaborately decked for burial surrounded by bound captives who vilio were to accompany him to his grave ills his body was adorned from head to fort foot with golden orna ments and many otters others were in baskets neaily Y stripping the body and robbing tile the baskets the spaniards returned to tile the coast with more than pounds of gold parita barita and his subjects were probably reni remnants nants of the once great civilization liza tion which produced the ornaments and relics recently uncovered by ests from the literary digest