Archaeology of the Guianas Stephen Rostain

Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river: Archaeology of the Guianas Stephen Rostain

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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

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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 culturas 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. The forest are Delta Amacuro y Bolivar (partially) in is the most varied vegetation formation Venezuela and Amapá in Brazil. in the world with more than 5,200 known species. Extended savannas are located at the center of the Guianas. The first in- WEST habitants, hunter-gatherers, crossed them more than 10,000 years ago. The western Groups linked to the Arauquinoid Tra- part of the center is dominated by more dition dominated the Guianas coast than 100 tepuyes. These plateaus with ver- west of Cayenne Island during al- tical walls emerge from the forest to reach most one millennium. Although often in some cases almost 3,000 m. cited in the archaeological literature, the Arauquinoid Tradition is, in fact, This paper presents the most recent

Figure 2 – Flooded coastal plain where elongated sandy ridges run parallel to the seashore, eastern Suriname (photo S. Rostain, 2005)

16 Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river summarily documented in Venezu- culture also reveals a trend from west ela (Cruxent & Rouse 1958-59). On to east. In western Suriname, the early the evidence of the published deco- Mabaruma culture (Buckleburg – 1 and rated pottery (style, technique, shape), Buckleburg – 2 sites) begins in approxi- it is possible to distinguish two main mately AD 300. The Early Hertenrits cultural entities in the Venezuelan style (Hertenrits and Wageningen – 1 Arauquinoid pottery (Rostain & Ver- sites) begins around AD 600. To the steeg 2003). A clear dichotomy exists east, the Peruvia site (Hertenrits style between the Apure-middle Orinoco with a number of important Kwatta ceramic repertoire (Caño Caroni, Ma- aspects) is dated at approximately AD traquero, Arauquin, Camoruco, and 700. In central Suriname, the Kwatta Corozal sites) and the lower Orinoco style begins in approximately AD 800. ceramic repertoire (Guarguapo and In east Suriname and west French Gui- Apostadero sites). ana, the Barbakoeba style would begin in circa AD 900, and the Thémire style The chronological sequence in the in central French Guiana ca. AD 1300. Guianas shows a development that is more or less parallel to that in Vene- Along most of the Surinamese coast zuela. Like in the Orinoco Basin, the and the western half of the French Saladoid Tradition is replaced by the Guiana coast settlements on the natu- Barrancoid Tradition that precedes the ral elevations in the landscape can be Arauquinoid Tradition. Diffusion of found on the sandy ridges (cheniers). Arauquinoid aspects toward the east These are the most likely natural settle- along the coast of the Guianas begins ment locations: slight elevations in the ca AD 650. The density of sites and landscape with good drainage (Figure probably of population in this area in- 3). Sandy ridges were ideal places to creases from this time on. The Arau- settle villages. So, pre-Columbian com- quinoid influence came probably by munities inhabited along these for- inland routes because there is no evi- mations. They had an easy access to dence of Arauquinoid presence on the resources from the sea, the river, the western coast of Guyana and informa- forest and the savanna. Raised fields tion on trade routes from the Colonial were built in swamps just south of the period suggests that inland routes were villages. Between the Berbice and the preferably used to travel from the Ori- Coppename rivers in Guyana and Su- noco to the Essequibo River (Arvelo- riname, sandy ridges are absent, so the Jiménez & Biord 1994). The best in- Hertenrits people had to build round- terpretation is to consider these coastal ed clay mounds above the water level cultures as a continuum, which suc- to erect their villages. Nine mounds cessively spread over the coastal plain were built in an ecosystem where fresh, of the Guianas from the Orinoco area brackish and salt waters met (seven are to the east (Rostain & Versteeg 2003). located in Suriname and two in Guy- The earliest dating available for each ana). Hertenrits is the largest of the

Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 17 Rostain, S.

nine known mounds with a raised area clay became hard as a rock when it was of about 4 hectares (Boomert 1980). taken out of the water. In reality, three The total quantity of earthworks has centres for the manufacture of muira- been estimated on 14.000 truckloads. quitãs, all connected with the Arau- Archaeological excavations have quinoid sphere, are known in Ama- shown that the Hertenrits mound was zonia: the Santarém area in the Lower built by the piling up of rectangular Amazon, the Valencia Lake in Venezu- blocks and a wooden shovel perfectly ela, and the just south of Paramaribo adapted to such work has been found in Suriname that is the centre of the in a close site (Versteeg 2003). Arauquinoid territory in the Guianas (Rostain 2006). Each Arauquinoid group was special- ized in specific activities like ceremo- Arauquinoid peoples are mainly fa- nial rituals, trade, intensive agriculture, mous for another activity. They built tools and artefacts’ manufacture. The thousands of raised fields that are an Arauquinoid pottery is decorated with impressive and ingenious agricultural thin incision, punctuation or anthro- answer to the flooding coastal plain of pomorphic figures and the characteristi- the Guianas (Figure 5). In the Guianas, cally twin items. Pregnant figurines are common (Figure 4). However, it was not a much elaborated industry. Their most famous product was the muira- quitã (Boomert 1987). These are green stone pendants representing mostly frogs. The archives also describe In- dian myths about these objects: the muiraquitãs were made by the warrior women Amazons who molded clay from a lake in the shape of a frog; the

Figure 4 – Pregnant figurine from the Arau- quinoid site of Prins Bernhard Polder, west- Figure 3 – Excavations at the Bois Diable ern coast of Suriname, collection of Sticht- site, on a sandy ridge west of Kourou, Arau- ing Surinaams Museum, Paramaribo (photo quinoid Tradition (photo S. Rostain, 2008) S. Rostain, 2009)

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Arauquinoid people occupied a ter- can be seen inside one complex. ritory of approximately 600 km long The distribution and the shape of between Guyana and French Guiana, raised fields are related to water level where the raised-field technique was and altitude. For instance, in a complex intensively used for almost one millen- located along the slope of a quater- nium before the European Conquest. nary sand ridge, large rounded raised Arauquinoid communities had settled fields are built in the deepest part of between the Berbice River in eastern the swamp, while elongated raised Guyana and Cayenne Island in French fields follow the direction of the slope Guiana. The highest density of raised to allow easy drainage at the foot of fields is found in the east of the Arau- the quaternary sand ridge, and the quinoid territory, particularly between ridged fields are laid perpendicular to Iracoubo and Kourou in French Gui- the slope for optimal water retention ana, where the last Arauquinoid com- on the upper part (Rostain 2010). This munities survived. In this area, it seems implies a large labor force and, prob- that almost every flood spot was used ably, planning under the authority of for agricultural purposes. Complexes a leader. Shape and layout of raised of raised fields have a specific organi- fields responded to specific constraints zation. The nature and distribution of and reveal a subtle knowledge of vari- agricultural mounds depend both on ous environmental factors. the topography and water levels, but variations of shape and organization The most advanced studies on raised

Figure 5 – Raised fields in the Karouabo area, central coast of French Guiana (photo S. Rostain, 1989)

Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 19 Rostain, S.

fields in the Guianas have been made fields were combined with the analysis in French Guiana. The first program of starch grains from ceramic griddle was conducted between 1989 and 1991 sherds of the nearby domestic dwellings, (Rostain 1991). The second one was to see correspondences between culti- carried out from 2007 to 2011 (McKey vated and consumed plants. Maize (Zea et al. 2010; Rostain 2010). If Arau- mays) and manioc (Manihot esculenta) quinoid pottery was quite well-known, were cooked on griddles (Iriarte et al. dating was missing to define a precise 2010 ; McKey et al. 2010). Moreover, chronological framework. For that cultivation of maize, squash (Cucurbita reason, we performed 66 radiometric sp.), and perhaps sweet potatoes (Ipo- dates on samples collected in domestic moea) and arrow leaf (Xanthosoma) has sites and raised fields. It was the first been demonstrated on French Guiana time that raised fields were dated with raised fields. precision in the Guianas. Dates from If raised fields are the main earthworks domestic sites confirmed the chronol- made by the Indians, these landscape ogy previously defined (Rostain 2008); makers also built other structures. Ar- the raised fields were dated between tificial residential mounds are associ- AD 900 and 1300 in several complex- ated to raised-fields complexes in Su- es. The first Arauquinoid raised fields riname, Guyana and Venezuela. Canals probably existed since AD 650 in west- are frequently associated to agricultural ern Suriname (Versteeg 2003) but they structures to improve drainage. But not became common and spread almost all had an agricultural function. Small everywhere along the coast from AD rivers have been diverted and canals 900 and up to AD 1400 at least. have been dug to facilitate circulation. One of the main questions posed by Similarly, pathways have been raised to the raised field study is to know what cross the flooded areas. plants were cultivated. Soil samples Finally, raised field study conducted were collected from various raised during the “earthmovers” project fields complexes along the French brought an interesting paradox looking Guiana coast. Archaeobotanists ana- at the tropical agriculture. The main lyzed pollen and phytolith samples to plague for rainforest agriculture is the find out what plant species were culti- leaf-cutter ant, a fungus-growing ant vated on these mounds. Maize was the that cut pieces of leaves to bring back to main crop cultivated on raised fields. the nest. These insects are particularly Looking at other archaeological data voracious. For example, some Atta spe- in Amazonia, it reasonable to con- cies are capable of defoliating an entire clude that these groups did not base citrus tree in less than 24 hours. Leaf-cut- their diet on manioc but were more ter ants can be considered as quite a nui- maize oriented. During our recent sance to humans because they defoliate “earthmovers” research (McKey et al. crops and destroy plantations. However, 2010), phytolith analysis from raised the same ant also permits the preserva-

20 Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river tion of raised fields. Ants act as “central filiated to the Polychrome Tradition: place foragers” and as “mound builders” the territory of the Aristé culture ex- (McKey et al. 2010). They construct deep tended along the coast from the Ara- nests, bringing subsoil to raised field sur- guari river in Amapá to the Ouanary faces. Ants move materials to the raised Hills in French Guiana, that is an area fields where they set their nest. Acromyr- of circa 370 km long by 10 to 100 km mex workers carry large quantities of wide; the Maracá culture extended plants to the nest to feed their fungal along a river in southern Amapá; the symbiont. Moreover, transport of mate- Mazagão culture was located in south- rial to surfaces of abandoned raised fields ern Amapá; the Caviana culture occu- thus at least partially compensates losses pied some islands of the mouth of the due to erosion and maintains the mound Amazon and the coast of the southern height. By reducing the erodibility of Amapá (Rostain 2011). raised fields and by transporting materials The Oyapock bay is a very special re- to them, thereby compensating erosional gion, with remarkable coastal hills, losses, communities of ecosystem engi- being the first place to where Euro- neers on raised fields maintain the con- pean explorers generally arrived after centration of resources (and organisms) crossing the ocean. So, it is a region on raised fields and their depletion in the frequently visited by Europeans just surrounding matrix. In conclusion, eco- after the conquest. The main specific- system engineers are responsible for the ity of the Oyapock bay is the presence preservation of pre-Columbian raised of coastal hills, which are rare on the fields up to nowadays. They are ants, coast of the Guianas. They are low, earthworms, termites and even plants. less than 200 m altitude, but they are Each of them played a function more or especially visible from the sea (Figure less important. It is curious to outline that 6). These coastal hills obviously were after their abandonment by human social attractive for the Indians. The villages, mammals, raised fields were managed smaller than the Arauquinoid ones, and preserved by natural social insects. were settled on the small hills emerg- ing from the swamps. The large size EAST of the habitation sites, the high density of cemeteries and rock-shelters, and The pre-Columbian situation was the diversity of ceramic innovations completely different in the East. Local suggest that the lower Oyapock River populations had even few exchanges hosted an important Aristé develop- with the western ones. If most of the ment centre. During historic times, western coast of the Guianas was oc- confederate leaders of Amapá tribes cupied by Arauquinoid cultures from lived in this area, which suggests its AD 700 on, the eastern part of the function as an important political cen- Guianas was dominated by people tre during that period. originating from the middle and the The specific distribution of the Ouanary lower Amazon. These groups were af-

Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 21 Rostain, S.

Figure 6 – Bruyère Hill was the center of Aristé confederation. Ouanary River is in the foreground, Oyapock River behind and Uaça River background (photo S. Rostain, 1989)

Hill’s sites suggests that villages were sur- the main living units were found in the rounded by various ceremonial sites. The villages. The finds in the Ouanary Hill's settlements were located in the middle of rock shelters suggest a ceremonial func- the southern slope, in a central position, tion for these specific sites that may have on the opposite side of the seashore. The been used as retreat locations (Figure 7). rock shelters, slightly above the villages, The archaeological record of the Aristé probably provided covered areas for sites notes a considerable number of cer- temporary periods of isolation. Disposal emonial sites. In fact, the majority of the of the dead occurred in caves at the top sites have a ce-remonial, and not a habita- of the hills facing north. Excavations in tion background. The division might reflect the Ouanary Hills shown that the Aristé the importance of ceremonial/ritual com- culture is characterized by two types of ponents in Aristé culture. habitation sites: villages and rock shel- Megalithic sites are found on the centers. The first ones are located on hills tral coast of Amapá, generally on hills, or river banks. Small settlements where a which are characterized by large pan- few families could live together are distin- oramas. They consist of vertical granite guished from larger villages where more slabs that are arranged in lines, circles or extensive communities lived together. triangles. Such sites remind fertility and Small rock shelters, with the average size marriage rituals practiced with wooden of 28 m2, were temporarily inhabited at and stone idols by Arauakí, Tapajós, different times by different people, while

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sition of the dead body. Late Aristé culture, however, presents another type of urn burial: the dead body was cremated before the remains were deposited in an urn (Meggers & Evans 1957). The latter type is predominant in Late Aristé culture, but the former and older type still occurs. Anyway, it seems that each cemetery was used for a long time by different clans, explaining the diversity of decorated urns in the same place. Gathered in an open cemetery, a cave or a pit, urns constitut- ed an assembly of transformed beings, which recreates the meetings of livings in a closed microcosm. Everything indi- cates that, in spite of a change of state, the community life and the cultural iden- tity are re-formed for dead, as a wish to perpetuate forever a mirror image of the society. Even after death, existence is es- Figure 7 – Excavation in the Abri Marcel sentially social, based on the recognition rock-shelter in the Bruyère Hill (photo S. of the other and not on the individual Rostain, 1989) dynamic. and Trombetas of the middle Amazon Shape and decoration of the funerary during the 17th century. Recent excava- Aristé ceramics are very diverse and re- tions made by Mariana Petry Cabral and veal a high level of creativity. But the João Darcy de Moura Saldanha (Cabral & most characteristic in this ceramic is the Saldanha 2009) in the megalithic site of anthropomorphic features associated Rego Grande demonstrated a funerary to the urns: face, arms, legs, nipple and used but also an astronomic function. navel. Like in other Polychrome cultures of the lower Amazon, body paint- Secondary burial in urns was practiced, ings were drawn on anthropomorphic and different Aristé cemeteries are recog- urns to claim their cultural affiliation nized. In the lower Oyapock River, funerary (Figure 8). The Aristé confederation caves are the most common. Urns were is expressed by the uniformity of this generally put against the wall of the cave. culture and the “personification”of In other cemeteries, urns are arranged the urns, by the precise geographical in a row on the ground or buried. They borders and the extreme scarcity of also can be put in shaft tombs dug where non-Aristé trade artefacts. Several vil- caves are absent. The Early Aristé culture lages obviously shared a common ma- is characterized by secondary urn burial terial culture and participated in a local containing bone remains after decompo-

Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 23 Rostain, S.

trade system. The limited number of the beginning of their colonization. urns in each Aristé cemetery may in- Aristé cemeteries were still used during dicate that these burials were reserved colonial times. It is very common to to persons of high status such as clan find European artifacts among Indian or tribal chiefs. Moreover, the large offerings in Aristé cemeteries. These number of cemeteries, each containing are glass beads, earthenware from Hol- few dead and/or urns, and the vari- land, iron tools, etc. In the cemeter- ety of the urn decorations, may indi- ies with European trade items (glass cate clan divisions. These peculiarities sherds, nails, knives, rings, chinaware, are the manifestation of the different small bells, and medals), the presence units within the homogeneous Aristé of glass beads, melted and sometimes cultural community. Aristé pottery has mixed with burnt human bones, sug- three different styles, which represent gests that the dead were burnt with successive phases in the long-standing prestigious artefacts. The presence of chronology of Aristé culture (Rostain chinaware made in the Netherlands be- 2011): Ancient Aristé (AD 700-1100), tween 1670 and 1750 in funerary caves Late Aristé (AD 1100-1600), and Final suggests that they were still used in the Aristé (AD 1600-1750). 18th century. In fact, these historical period cemeteries seem to represent Aristé people lived in an area fre- the latest Aristé culture manifestations, quently visited by Europeans from

Figure 8 – Left: human faces made in relief of the neck of two Aristé painted urns from the Trou Biche cave, in the Bruyère Hill in the mouth of Oyapock, collection of Museum of Guyanese Culture, Cayenne (photo S. Rostain, 2004). Right: funerary anthropomorphic and polychromic urn of the Cunaní pit in Amapá (drawing S. Rostain)

24 Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 Where the Amazon river meet the Orinoco river while also showing the absorption of CONCLUSION new culture elements. The Aristé cul- Archaeological excavations and analy- ture lasted up to ca AD 1750 and it is sis made during the 20th century and the only homogeneous and well-repre- at the beginning of this century au- sented archaeological culture of north thorize us to draw a panorama of Amapá and the Ouanary Hills. the pre-Columbian occupation of the Historical records from the end of coastal Guianas. Thanks to important the 16th century, and of the same area, progresses, especially in microanalysis, shows that several Indian groups, made in archaeology and the multipli- notably the modern Palikur (Aruak cation of researchers working in this linguistic family), were predominant area in the last years, this framework there after the conquest (Nimuendajú will obviously be soon completed, 2008 [1926]; Grenand & Grenand detailed, and modified. However, it 1987). This brings into view one ques- furnishes a basis to understand the tion: Are Aristé people “ancestors” of prehistory of the area and to orient modern Palikur? Few similarities exist interpretations. Up to now, the recent between Aristé and Palikur ceramic studies made in the five Guianas con- styles (Rostain 2011). While the Palikur firm this pre-Columbian dichotomy potters do not use curved and elabo- between two main cultural territories rate lines in designs of the Late Aristé along the coast separated by Cayenne style, they would recognize the linear, Island. No other convincing frame- triangular and castellated designs of work to explain pre-Columbian world both the Incised-and-Punctate and has been proposed. Arauquinoid Traditions. The modern However, recent scientific programs Palikur style originates from a mixture reveal new fundamental data in the of Aristé, Mazagão, and some Arau- Guianas on the antiquity of the pot- quinoid styles resulting in an evolu- tery, the agriculture and the nature tion of a new pottery style. To find the of cultivated plants, the function of real Aristé heirs, we have to move to sites, and the landscape modifications. the west along the Guianas coast. The These promising investigations are the landing of the European in 1499 dealt University of Guyana project conduct- a serious blow to the Indian world as it ed by Michael Heckenberger in eastern was prior to the Conquest. A complete Guyana, the INRAP preventive exca- destabilization occurred, provoked vations in French Guiana (Van den by that arrival. Hybrid communities Bel 2009, 2010), the IEPA researches arose, due to the interaction of several in Amapá (Saldanha & Cabral 2010; local populaces. Kali’na culture (Karib Cabral 2011) and the CNRS interdis- linguistic family) issued from eastern ciplinary project in the coastal flood- Polychrome Tradition settled between ing savannas in French Guiana (Iriarte Cayenne Island and Orinoco Delta. et al. 2010; McKey et al. 2010; Rostain 2010). During these last five years,

Amazônica 4 (1): 10-28, 2012 25 Rostain, S.

important sites have been discovered Guianas, in the recent “Handbook of and studied, such as raised fields and South American Archaeology” (Silver- domestic artificial mound in Guyana, man & Isbell 2008). enormous raised-field complexes and Up to recently, pre-Columbian Guianas associated sites west of Kourou in were almost always forgotten in any French Guiana, pre-ceramic and for- study on the prehistory of Amazonia. mative sites in western coastal French One good example is the excellent book Guiana, ditched hills or elevations near “Unknown Amazon” (McEwan, Barreto rivers in French Guiana, cemeteries, & Neves 2001) where, however, all the funerary pits, and stone alignments in lands north of the Guianas watershed central Amapá and the Lower Oyapock were completely ignored. The remarkable River. These are not anymore exca- progress and discoveries made in these vated by restricted test-pits dug by one last years in the Guianas has changed the or two amateurs but by large teams vision on the cultural developments and of professionals. Large-scale excava- the role of this territory during the pre- tions become more common among Columbian times. Archaeologists are now archaeologists. Multidisciplinary or aware of the importance of the northern even interdisciplinary researches are part of the lower Amazon, especially the frequently conducted and almost all Amapá State, as a crucial cultural cradle archaeological works are now associ- (Neves 2006; Schaan 2012), but also of ated with other disciplines like pedol- the extraordinary pre-Columbian human ogy, botany, geomorphology, ecology, developments in the Guianas and par- ethnology, etc. ticularly along the coast. The future is also optimistic given The prehistory of the Guianas has been the clear increase of academic studies at last waked up from its isolation. in the Guianas. Up to the beginning of the 21th century, only three PhDs were obtained in Amapá (Meggers & REFERENCES Evans 1957), Suriname (Versteeg 1985), and French Guiana (Rostain 1994). Arvelo Jiménez, N. & H. Biord. 1994. The impact of Conquest on contemporary in- A new generation of archaeologists digenous peoples of the Guiana Shield: came to work in these countries and the system of Orinoco regional interde- several PhDs are in process in Amapá pendence, in Amazonian Indians from Prehis- (Federal University of Pará in Brasil), tory to the Present: Anthropological Perspectives. French Guiana (University of Panthe- Edited by A.C. Roosevelt, pp. 55-78. Tuc- on-Sorbonne in France) and Suriname son: University of Arizona Press. (University of Leiden in Holland). Boomert, A. 1980. Hertenrits: an Arau- More books and scientific papers are quinoid complex in northwest Suriname. also published and it is noteworthy the Journal of the Walter Roth Museum of Archae- quantity of chapters concerning Ama- ology and Anthropology 3(2): 68-104. zonian lowlands, and especially the _____. 1987. Gifts of the Amazons: “Green

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Stone” pendants and beads as items of cer- Nimuendajú, C. 2008 [1926]. Les Indiens emonial exchange in Amazonia and the Ca- Palikur et leurs voisins. Encyclopédie Palikur ribbean. Antropológica 67: 33-54. 1, CTHS, Orléans. Cabral, M. P. 2011. Juntando cacos: uma Rostain, S. 1991. Les champs surélevés améri- reflexão sobre a classificação da fase Ko- ndiens de la Guyane, Coll° La Nature et riabo no Amapá. Amazônica. Revista de l’Homme, ORSTOM, Cayenne. Antropologia 3(1): 88-106. ____. 1994. L’occupation amérindienne anci- Cabral, M. P. & J. D. M. Saldanha. 2009. enne du littoral de Guyane, TDM 129. Paris: Note sur des structures mégalithiques en ORSTOM éditions. Guyane brésilienne. Journal de la Société des ____. 2006. Spécialisation et commerce Américanistes 95(1): 97-110. dans les Guyanes amérindiennes. Techniques Cruxent, J. M. & I. Rouse. 1958-59. An et cultures 46-47: 139-174. archaeological chronology of Venezuela. Social ____. 2008. The archaeology of the Gui- Science Monography 6. Washington: Pan anas: an overview, in Handbook of South American Union. American Archaeology, pp. 279-302. Edited Grenand, P. & F. Grenand. 1987. La côte by H. Silverman & W. Isbell. New York: d’Amapá, de la bouche de l’Amazonie à la Springer/Kluwer/Plenum. baie d’Oyapock, à travers la tradition orale ____. 2010. Pre-Columbian earthworks in Palikur. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio coastal Amazonia. Diversity 2(3):353-369. Goeldi .Antropologia 3(1):1-77. ____. 2011. Que hay de nuevo al Norte: Iriarte, J., B. Glaser, J. Watling, A. Wain- apuntes sobre el Aristé. Revista de Arqueolo- wright, J. Birk, D. Renard, S. Rostain & gia 24(1): 10-31. D. McKey. 2010. Agricultural landscapes of coastal Amazonia: Phytolith and car- Rostain, S. & A. H. Versteeg. 2003. The bon isotope analysis of raised fields from Arauquinoid Tradition in the Guianas, in French Guiana savannah. Journal of Archae- Late Ceramic Societies in the Eastern Carib- ological Science 37(12): 2984-2994. bean, pp. 233-250. Edited by A. Delpuech & C. Hofman. BAR 1273, Monographs in McEwan, C., C. Barreto & E. Neves (eds.). 2001. American Archaeology 14. Paris. Unknown Amazon. Culture in Nature in Ancient Bra- zil. London:The British Museum Press. Saldanha, J. D. M. & M. P. Cabral. 2010. A Arqueologia do Amapá: reavaliação e no- McKey, D., S. Rostain, J. Iriarte, B. Glaser, vas perspectivas, in Arqueologia Amazônica, J. Birk, I. Holst & D. Renard. 2010. Pre-Co- Vol. 1., pp. 95-112. Edited by E. S. Pereira lumbian agricultural landscapes, ecosystem & V. Gua¬pindaia. Belém: MPEG/IPH- engineers and self-organized patchiness in AN/SECULT. Amazonia. PNAS 107(17): 7823-7828. Schaan, D. 2012. Sacred geographies of ancient Meggers, B. J. & C. Evans. 1957. Archaeological Amazonia. Historical ecology of social complex- investigations at the mouth of the Amazon. Bureau ity, Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press. of American Ethnology, bulletin 177. Wash- ington DC: Smithsonian Institution. Silverman, H. & W. Isbell (eds.). 2008. Handbook of South American Archaeology. Neves, E. G. 2006. Arqueologia da Amazô- New York: Springer/Kluwer/Plenum. nia. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar. Van den Bel, M. 2009. Les dépôts funérai-

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res d’Iracoubo: les résultats d’une fouille préventive d’une nécropole précolombi- enne en Guyane française. Amazônica, Re- vista de Antropologia 1(1): 230-249. ____. 2010. A Koriabo site on the Lower Maroni River: results of the pre¬ventive archaeological excavation at Crique Spa- rouine, French Guiana, in Arqueologia Amazônica, Vol. 1, pp. 61-93. Edited by E. S. Pereira & V. Guapindaia. Belém: MPEG/ IPHAN/ SECULT. Versteeg, A. H. 1985. The prehistory of the young coastal plain of west Suriname. Ber. Rijksdienst Oudheidkundig Bodemonder- zoek 35:653-750. ____. 2003. Suriname voor Columbus/Suri- name before Columbus. Libri Musei Surina- mensis 1. Paramaribo: Stichting Surinaams Museum. Whitehead, N. 2002. Dark shamans. Kanaimà and the poetics of violent death. Durham/Lon- don: Duke University Press.

Recebido em 15/02/2012. Aprovado em 08/03/2012.

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