Archaeology of the Guianas Stephen Rostain
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river: Archaeology of the Guianas Stephen Rostain To cite this version: Stephen Rostain. Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river: Archaeology of the Guianas. Amazônica - Revista de Antropologia, Universidade Federal do Pará - UFPA, 2012, 4 (1), pp.10-28. 10.18542/amazonica.v4i1.880. halshs-01851604 HAL Id: halshs-01851604 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01851604 Submitted on 30 Jul 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Where the Amazon river meets the Orinoco river: Archaeology of the Guianas 10 Where the Amazon river meets the Orinoco river:Where the Amazon river meets the Orinoco river: Archaeology of the Guianas Archaeology of the Guianas S T É P H E N R O S T A I N Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France Institut Français d’Études Andines (IFEA), Équateur 11 Rostain, S. WHERE THE AMAZON RIVER MEETS THE ORINOCO RIVER. ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GUIANAS Abstract Archaeological and interdisciplinary investigations conducted in the Guianas during these last 35 years offer a new picture of the pre-Co- lumbian Guianas. Although archaeology still is relatively incipient in the Guianas, it is possible to draw up a panorama of the prehistory of this huge region. During the last millennium before the European Conquest, Guianas coast was divided into two main territories dominated by two different cultural entities. Cayenne Island in French Guiana was the key- area marking the boundary between two cultural traditions. Western coast up to the Guyana was dominated by cultures linked to the Arauquinoid Tradition originated in the Middle Orinoco. Eastern coast was occupied by cultures belonging to the Polychrome Tradition of the Lower Ama- zon. These two cultural entities grew up from ca. AD 600 up to their destruction by the European Conquest. Keywords: Archaeology, Guianas, arauquinoid tradition, polychrome tradition LÀ OÙ L’AMAZONE RENCONTRE L’ORÉNOQUE. ARCHÉOLOGIE DES GUYANES Résumé Les recherches archéologiques et interdisciplinaires menées dans les Guyanes durant ces 35 dernières années fournissent une nouvelle image des Guyanes précolombiennes. Bien que l’archéologie soit relativement jeune dans les Guyanes, il est possible de dresser un panorama de la préhistoire de cette immense région. Durant le dernier millénaire avant la Conquête européenne, le littoral des Guyanes était divisé en deux territoires principaux dominés par deux différents ensembles culturels. L’Île de Cayenne en Guyane française était une zone charnière mar- quant la frontière entre deux traditions culturelles. La côte occidentale était dominée par des cultures liées à la Tradition Arauquinoïde issue du Moyen Orénoque. Le littoral oriental était occupé par des cultures appartenant à la Tradition Polychrome du Bas Amazone. Ces deux en- tités culturelles se développèrent de 600 apr. J.-C. environ jusqu’à leur destruction par la Conquête européenne. Mots clés: Archélogie, Guyanes, tradition arauquinoïde, tradition polychrome. 12 Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river DONDE EL AMAZONAS ENCUENTRA EL ORINOCO. ARQUEOLOGÍA DE LAS GUYANAS Resumen Las investigaciones arqueológicas e interdisciplinarias llevadas a cabo en las Guyanas durante estos 35 últimos años muestran una nueva imagen de las Guyanas precolombinas. Si bien la arqueología es relativamente joven en las Guyanas, es posible presentar un panorama de la prehisto- ria de esta inmensa región. En el último milenio antes de la Conquista europea, el litoral de las Guyanas estaba dividido en dos territorios prin- cipales dominados por dos diferentes conjuntos culturales. La Isla de Cayena en Guyana francesa era una zona clave que marcaba la frontera entre dos tradiciones culturales : la costa occidental dominada por cul- turas ligadas a la Tradición Arauquinoide originaria del Medio Orinoco y el litoral oriental ocupado por culturas pertenecientes a la Tradición Policroma del Bajo Amazonas. Estas dos entidades culturales se desar- rollaron cerca de 600 DC hasta su destrucción por la Conquista europea. Palabras-clave: Arqueología, Guyanas, tradición arauquinoide, tradición policroma Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 13 Rostain, S. INTRODUCTION heresy that such women living without men represented in the 16th century Up to recently, pre-Columbian develop- world. These myths contributed to the ments of the Guianas were not well- conception of the existence of Evil in known. During a long time this enor- the Guianas. mous piece of land located between the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers has Investigations conducted during 35 been more productive for myths than years, but especially in the last five for scientific studies. The myth of El years offer a very different picture of Dorado, the Indian King covered of the Guianas, boring myths and legends gold power before to plunge in a lake of our minds. Although archaeology is originated in Columbia. However, still relatively incipient in the Guianas, this tale was transposed in the earli- we already can draw up a panorama of est times of the conquest from Co- the pre-Columbian occupation of this lumbia to the Guianas to be located huge region (Rostain 2008). During in the large savannas of the center of the last millennium before the Euro- the country. Manoa, the city of Eldo- pean Conquest, Guianas coast was di- rado, has been located by Europeans vided into two main territories domi- in these central savannas, on the bank nated by two different cultural entities of the mythic Parimé Lake. Christo- (Figure 1) and Cayenne Island was the pher Columbus was convinced to find key-area marking the boundary be- the Eden when he visited the mouth tween two cultural traditions (Rostain of the Orinoco. After him, the quest 1994). This paper will show the dif- of the Eldorado, but also of only gold, ferences between these two main pre- has been a leitmotiv among the people Columbian entities and will present going to the Guianas. Guianas are also some innovative interpretations from a land of nightmares where cannibals a recent scientific program conducted still threaten people. The anthropolo- in French Guiana. gist Neil Whitehead (2002) shown that in the central savannas of the Guianas, dark shamans continue today to kill A SPECIFIC AMAZONIAN LAND and to make black magic on inhabit- Guianas have a geographical and cul- ants. These anthropophagic rituals tural uniformity, distinct from the make by modern Kanaimas or dark Greater Amazonia. They cover some shamans are a clear reminiscence of 1.8 million square kilometers and are those described in the archives for the divided into five countries: Venezu- Tupi groups of coastal Brazil. We ob- ela (states East of the Orinoco River), viously also have the Amazon women, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and stars of tales of the pristine forest, who Amapá (a state situated north of the were supposed to live in the Guianas, Amazon River in Brazil). The Guianas just north of the Amazon River. What are delimited by the Orinoco at north, is interesting about the Amazons is the by the Atlantic at east, by the Amazon 14 Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river Figure 1 – Map of the Guianas showing the two main pre-Columbian territories and different archaeological cultures (drawing S. Rostain) river at south, by the rio Negro and the dered by mangroves on the mud flats Cassiquiare canal at west. The Casiqui- along the seashore. On the old coastal are is a geographical anomaly because plain, marshes are cut by narrow and this river connects two different river elongated sandy ridges parallel to the basins: the upper Negro and the up- seashore that are ancient beaches (Figure 2). per Orinoco. Guianas are bordered on The Amazon River measures almost their periphery by water from rivers or 100 km wide at Santarém, so it was not ocean, so they form a vast continental easy to cross during pre-Columbian island in Amazonia. times. Inhabitants of the left side did not have regular contacts with those The periphery can be considered as a of the right side. Floodplains located coast because rivers are so wide that along the rivers and the seashore are they constitute sorts of seas. particularly fertile. Very efficient agri- The oceanic coast is a narrow Qua- cultural techniques, using terra preta or ternary sedimentary plain stretching várzea, have been used on this periph- some 1.600 km between the mouth of ery. This “continental coast” is fertile the Amazon and the Orinoco Delta. and was inhabited by the most com- The young coastal plain is differenti- plex pre-Columbian societies. So it is ated from old the coastal plain. The possible to say that Guianas are sur- first one is a low swampy plain bor- Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 15 Rostain, S. rounding by a rich water ring. prehistoric developments in the coastal Guianas. They are located north of the The hinterland borders the coastal plain Guianas watershed line where rivers do at the south and the interior is covered by not go from north to south toward the the rainforest surrounding central savan- Amazon river but flow to the north to- nas in Guyana, Suriname and Venezuelan ward the Atlantic Ocean. This concerns tepuyes. For instance, the rainforest covers three countries that are Guyana, Surina- 90% of French Guiana. Seen from the me, French Guiana and three states that sky, it has a “broccoli” aspect.