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    Unknown - Unknown - Rostain - Arauquinoid in The Guianas-2004B PDF

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    ‘This tile published by Publishers of British Archaeological Reports BARSI27300 Paris Monographs in American Archaeology 14 Late Ceramic Age Societies in the Eastern Caribbean © the individual authors 2004 TSBN 1.84171 626 X_ Printed in England by The Basingstoke Press. “Typesetting and layout: Claude Muszynski-Delpuech crest ewer noma B.cm. AD 1440-1460. ‘rang by Evan Se ree ‘All BAR titles are available from: ‘Hadrian Books Ltd. 122 Banbury Road ‘Oxford 0x2 78P THE ARAUQUINOID TRADITION IN THE GUIANAS, Stéphen ROSTAIN and Aad H. VERSTEEG Abstract Cultures of the Arauguinoid Tradition are evident between the Orinoco River area in Venezuela and Cayenne Island in French Guiana. The cultures distinguished in the Guianas are, from west to east: Hertenrits, Kwatta, Barbakoeba and Thémire, This paper compares the Venezuelan cultures with those in the Guianas. It also discusses comparable traits and differences between the manifestations in the Guianas. Des cultures de la tradition Arauguinoide ont été mises en évidence entre le fleuve Orénoque au Venezuela et Vile de Cayenne en Guyane francaise. Les cultures répertoriées dans les Guyanes sont d’ouest en est: Hertenrts, Kwatta,Barbakoeba et Thémire. Cet article compare les cultures du Venezuela avec celles des Guyanes, puis analyse les traits commun et les differences de leurs manifestations dans les Guyanes, INTRODUCTION “The present authors studied sites and archaeological material belonging to the Arauquinoid Tradition in the Guianas (Fig. 1), ‘They intend to discuss its characteristics, site distribution, focation, type of sites, economic and ideological aspects, and chronology and material culture In view of the current knowledge it is hought that ancestral sites of the older Barrancoid and Salaioid Traditions are to be found in the Orinoco River area. The same has been stated for the Arauquinoid Tradition (Boomert 1980; Versteeg 1985; Versteeg and Bubberman 1992; Rostain 1994b). However, a detailed ‘comparison of the sites in the Guianas and those in the Orinoco River area bas not been made before. ‘The focus of this paper is on the sites in the Guianas, but comparisons with the Orinoco River manifestations are an important aspect of it. Up to now, many researchers have noted the presence of the Arauquinoid Tradition in several Amazonian sites, but the lack of a general synthesis prevents the under standing of the manifestation ofthis tradition, An analysis and. description of the available data for the most important Venezuelan and Guianese archaeological cultures within the Arauquinoid ‘Tradition makes it possible to understand the homogeneity or the heterogeneity ofthis dispersed cultural tradition - a tradition that existed for at least 1000 years (AD 500-1500). ‘THE ARAUQUINOID TRADITION ON THE APURE AND ORINOCO RIVERS ‘The Arauguinoid Tradition was defined by reference to pottery collections from a few sites located on the Lower Apure River (a tributary of the Middle Orinoco River), near its confluence with the Midéle Orinoco River (Fig. 2). The first report of this particular pottery style was published by Petrullo (1939), on the basis of an archaeological survey at Arauquin Ranch (in fact three sites near each other) undertaken during ethnographic fieldwork in the Venezuelan province of Apure. Later, various, authors have noted Arauguinoid pottery along the Apure River and on the Middle and the Lower Orinoco River (especially Cruxent and Rouse 1958-59; Howard 1947; Roosevelt 1980 and 1997; Rouse and Cruxent 1963; Zucchi 1975), Although often cited in the archaeological literature, the Arauquinoid Tradition is, in fact, summarily documented in Venezuela. Basically, Cruxent and Rouse (1958-59) recognise four sites with Arauquinoid pottery: Arauquin and Matraquero on the Lower Apure River near San Fernando in the centzal Llanos, Camoruco near Parmana on the Middle Orinoco River and Guarguapo at Barrancas in the Lower Orinoco. OF these four sites, Matraquero and Camoruco are reported to be mounds; the two other sites are situated on high riverbanks. We conclude that wo settlement types are associated with the Arauquinoid ‘Tradition in Venezuela: anfcially elevated mounds in relatively low-lying environmerts, and non-elevated locations on riverbanks. CCruxent and Rouse (1958-59) used each of these sites to define four styles. However, in view of recent data it is obvious that typical Arauguinoid style characteristics are mixed with typical Barrancoid style characteristics. This is certainly true for Guarguapo. This can be understood as the result ofthe presence. of two (or more) components of occupation. Where clearly separated stratigraphical layers do not exist; this results in a mix of archaeological artefacts. Now that more single- component sites have been studied and ascribed to Traditions, ‘multi-component sites can be better interpreted. The tendency of Rouse and Cruxent to ascribe the pottery of one site as a style, and their use of type-sites, results in some cases in styles, DELPUECH, Ande and Corinne L. HOFMAN (eds). Late Ceramic Age Societies i the Eastem Cartan, Oxford: Archacopress, 2008, (BAR Internationa! ‘eres; 1273, Paris Monographs in American Afchaeology; 1). 233 that incorporate aspects of more than one Tradition. In their 1958-59 monograph, the aforementioned authors provide illustrations of archaeological material excavated at the Apostadeto site, located near Guarguapo in the Lower Orinoco area. This site, like Guarguapo, also has material that on one hand resembles Mabaruma material (Barrancoid Tradition) and on the other some typical Arauquinoid pottery. The present authors would certainly include the late part ofthe population at Apostadero in the Arauquinoid Tradition. Zocehi (1975) reported the Cao Caroni site with typical Arauquinoid pottery in the Llanos near the Apure River in West ‘Venezuela. The Venezuelan Arauguinoid pottery is characterised, by the use of sponge speculaas the main temper; crushed sherd temper is rare On the evidence of the decorated pottery (style, technique, shape), as well from publications as from observations in museum collections, the present authors distinguish two main cultural entities in the Venezuelan Arauquinoid pottery. A clear dichotomy exists between the Apure-Middle Orinoco ceramic repertoire (Caio Caroni, Matraquero, Arauquin, Camoruco and Corozal sites), and the Lower Orinoco ceramic repertoire (Guarguapo and Apostadero sites). ‘The common aspects of both groups (Middle and Lower Orinoco River) are (Fig. 3, three upper rows): = allip with a row of incisions; ~ human and animal-head lugs on the rims of bowls; punctated ridges; = double lugs; - rows of thin-Tine incised triangles on the rims; - dotted areas delimited by thin-line incised triangles ‘The sites of Matraquero, Arauquin, Camoruco and Corozal (Middle Orinoco River) demonstrate striking similarities in style in their combination of decorative techniques and motives, ‘Three specific decoration modes are only present in middle Orinoco sites and have not been reported for the Lower orinoco (Fig. 3, lower row): ~ rows of excised triangles and horizontal lines on the rim, with and without punctation, dots or hollow reed impression/circle stamp; ~ human effigy small jars; - maroon paintings, In the Corozal site, Roosevelt (1997164) noted that the majority of cooking vessels of the Arauquinoid Camoruco Phase are plain, differing from those of the earlier phases, which often exhibited some decoration. Identifiable non-zoomorphic human representations are rare in Parmana ceramics until the Camoruco phase. The human images change somewhat in their use and appearance during the Camoruco phase. Early in the phase, they appear almost exclusively as effigy jars. Later in the phase, the human-effigy jars persist, but humans are also commonly used as tow! lugs, almost replacing animals in this content. ‘The vessels change in character through time, with large unpain- ted jars in Early Camoruco, and stall, maroon-painted effigy {jars and cups being more common late in the phase. ‘The present archaeological data suggest that the most ancient sites with typical Arauguinoid pottery are located near the confluence of the Apure and the Orinoco Rivers, and are dated 24 Stéphen ROSTAIN and Aad Hl. VERSTEEG c. AD 500-600 according to Rouse and Cruxent (1963). hese dates are not without controversy: for instance, the beginning of the Arauquinoid Camaruco series would be AD 400 according to Roosevelt (1980:195). The same author places the beginning ofthis series at AD 800 in a more recent publication (Roosevelt 1997:185). We will compare the dating of the Venezuelan and the Guianas sites below. From the Middle Orinoco, there is ‘one charcoal dating published as "AD 1385” (no sigma value indicated) on the Tucuragua site, which has pottery ofthe Late Arauguinoid phase (Arvelo 1978:31), ‘The style spread from the Apure-Orinoco confluence more to the easton the Middle, and eventaally, Lower Orinoco River, the Venezuelan Llanos and the Guianas (Cruxent and Rouse 1958-59), The same Traditions found on the Lower and Middle ‘Amazon River, where it is known as the Incised-and-Punctate tradition (Meggers and Evans 1961). Possibly the origin ofthe Arauquinoid/Ineised-and-Punctate Tradition should be sought outside Venezuela. However, a discussion of the relationship between the Amazon and Orinoco manifestations of ‘Arauguinoid/Incised-and-Punetate Traditions falls outside the scope of this paper. WHAT ABOUT THE ARAUQUINOID TRADITION IN THE GUIANAS? ‘The first Arauquinoid phase on the coast of the Guianas (AD 600-1000) ‘The chronological sequence in the Guianas shows a develop- rent that runs more or less parallel to that in Venezuela. As in the Orinoco Basin, the Saladoid Tradition is replaced by the Barrancoid Tradition that precedes the Arauquinoid Tradition. Diffusion of Arauquinoid aspects toward the east along the coast of the Guianas began c. AD 600. The density of sites and probably of population in this area increases from this time ‘on, However, this succession of cultural traditions should not be seen simply as population replacement ‘The first coastal clay mound sites were built ¢. AD 300 in the wetlands of coastal Surinam, These Buckleburg-I and Buckleburg-2 sites have Mabaruma pottery, which belongs to the Barrancoid tradition. They are associated with a complex agricultural system (raised agricultural plots in coastal swamps, facilitating permanent, agriculture). This intensive agricultural system becomes more widespread from c. AD 600 onwards. More sites are also registered from this period onwards. This is interpreted as an indication ofan increase in population inthis part ofthe Guianas, So, mounds and raised-field tradition (Barrancoid Tradition) were already present in the Surinam coastal atea, ready to receive new concepts and ideas, but the economic base of existence obviously stayed the same. Like on the Middle Orinoco, “it makes sense to suppose that the older technologies and art styles continued to be important because some people committed to the earlier ways of the region were still around” The Arauguinoid Tradition in the Guianas (Roosevelt 1997159). The Arauquinoid influence came perhaps by sea or by inland routes. Information on trade routes from the Colonial period suggests that inland routes were preferably used to travel from the Orinoco to the Essequibo River (Arvelo-Jiménez. and Biord 1994), The coastal envizonment ofthe area where the mounds occur is the Young Coastal Plain ‘hich was formed relatively recently (Versteeg 1985:659-668}. Dependent upon the ecozone and the physical/chemical soil conditions, this area is characterised by @ great variety, alternating from thick forests poor, open (marsh) vegetation, Because of their recent origin, the soils of these areas are, in ‘general, richer than thse of the interior. It is therefore precisely this part of Surinam that has made the most significant contribution tothe socio-economic development ofthe country, ‘not only in prehistoric times but also by recent large-scale rice cultivation projects. ‘The mounds Hertenrits and Wageningen-1 are situated on a single creek system in this Young Coastal Plain and they were studied relatively well (Boomert 1980; Versteeg 1985). They have a diameter of c. 130-200 m and were built up layer by layer from the clay immediately around the mound from AD 600 on. In practice, ths process manifests itself archaeolo- gically as black inhabitation layers that are bordered below and above by grey built-up layers. The range of radiocarbon dates shows a gradual rising of the mounds, and dates the different habitation layers between c: AD 600 and 950, The mounds reach a height of c, 2-2.50 m above the flat swampy surroundings. ‘The Hertenrts mound is surrounded by a 20-100 m wide gully. Palynological samples show that the mounds were builtin the border area between fresh- and salt water, enabling the inhabitants to exploit marine, brackish and freshwater habitats a a limited distance from their village (Fig. 11). ‘The area around the mounds was inundated periodically with freshwater at the end of the wet season. The canal-system around the complexes of raised agricultural fields provided ‘good conditions for manioc and, perhaps, maize cultivation. Cassava was cultivated on the fields, and maybe maize in the Late Hertenrits phase. No proof of this has yet been found in Surinam, but Roosevelt (1980) assumes this on the basis of the increasing importance of maize in Eastern Venezuela from approximately AD 700 onwards. These fields, around which a coatrolled water evel was maintained, enabled the inhabitants ‘0 practice permanent cultivation, in contrast to slash-and-burn agriculture that is required in the more inland parts of the land. ‘The Hertenrits and Wageningen-1 mounds are characterised by Hertenrits style pottery. Within this Hertenrits style there is a dichotomy between Early and Late Hertenrits pottery. Early Hertenrits pottery and its culture is the first Arauquinoid manifestation in the Guianas, and it has relatively simple decoration designs such as simple rim incisions and wavy Applied clay rolls Fig. 4). Early Hertenrits pottery is found in the lower sections of the Hertenrits, and in all layers of the. ‘Wageningen-1 mound. Late Hertenrits pottery is only found, in the youngest (Lop) section of the Hertenrits mound and at the Prins Bernhard Polder siteFig. 4) 235 ‘The Hertenrits- the largest and highest mound in Surinam - ‘was inhabited longer than the other mounds. The raised- fields neat the Hertenrits are long and narrow; a more optimal shape than those near the older Buckleburg mounds that have a more or less square shape. The cultural distribution of the Guianas coast changes after ‘AD 1000 when the Late Hertenrits style begins. What are the new developments? ‘The second Arauquinoid phase on the Guianas coast, (AD 1000-1400) By AD 1000, Arauquinoid sites can be found along the coast of all three Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). The coastal area is now relatively densely populated. From west to east, the cultures are Hertenrits, Kwatta, Barbakoeba and ‘Thémire (Fig. 5) All these cultures occupied specific territories that are delimited by the main rivers. So, between the Berbice River and Cayenne Island, populations that were part of the Arauquinoid Tradition inhabited the coast There is an absence of sites in Guyana, withthe sole exception of the Canje River site, This absence may be the result of the small number of archaeological investigations that were done in the coastal areg of Eastern Guyana. ‘Along most of the Surinam coast and the western half of the French Gaiana coast, (ie. east of the area of the mounds) settlements on natural elevations in the landscape can be found on the sand ridges (cheniers) These are the most likely natural seitiement locations: possessing slight elevations inthe landscape with good drainage. In addition, because of the presence of shells in the subsoil of many of the ridges (especially in central Surinam), the soil characteristics are favourable for agriculture We have noted a difference between Arauguinoid Tradition sites in Venezuela and the Guianas in relation to the site location: in the Guianas mound and chenier sites; in Venezuela mound and river bank sites, ‘Today, these ridges are distant from the shoreline, but it is probable that some were occupied when they were nearer to the sea. For instance, the Kwatta Tingiholo site in the coastal plain of central Surinam, dated between 1350 and 1000 BP, is located on a ridge that was formed c. 1715 BP (Versteeg, 1985). “The best interpretation is to consider these coastal cultures as ‘continuum, which successively spread over the coastal plains of the Guianas from the Orinoco area to the east (Versteeg and Bubberman 1992:44). The earliest datings available for each culture also reveal a trend from west to east. In West Surinam, the Early Mabaruma culture (Buckleburg-1 and Buckleburg-2 sites) stans atc. AD 300, The Early Hertenrits style (Hertenrits and Wageningen-1 sites) begins at c. AD 600. To the east, the Peruvia site (Hertenrits style with a number of important Kwatta aspects) is dated from approximately AD 700. In central Surinam, the Kwatta style occurs from approximately AD 800 ‘onwards. In East Surinam and West French Guiana, the Barbakoeba style would begin from c. AD 1000, like the ‘Thémie style in cent French Guiana, In some site, artiically raised pathways crossed the swamps to reach the shore. The extended ridges facilitated an easy east-west communication between the villages along the coast as was still the case during the post-Columbian period: It is by these Savannas that we can go by land from Kourow up to Surinam. (..) a road which is relatively familiar to the Savages of these areas (Barrére 1743.21), The most striking characteristic is the permanent agriculture on artificially raised fields. Intensive agriculture on raised- fields is associated with the Arauquinoid Tradition, but it was already present before that time ia the Surinam coastal plain (Buckleburg). Near many ridge and mound settlement however, artificially raised fields occur in the adjoining lower swarpy areas. Especially in eastera Surinam and central French Guiana, we find enormous areas with these fields, some very high (up to 1.5 m). The present tree vegetation in that area provides these fields with good protection against erosion. In open terrain many of these fields show the result ‘of erosion, which may totally or partially explain the differences in beight (Fig. 12), “The raised-fields are generally organised in clusters, and often the highest fields occur inthe lowest areas. The long axis of the raised fields is generally oriented north-south, that is at right angles o the east-west oriented chenier. This was probably done to promote good drainage of water towards the lower ‘swamp. However, the highest situated fields nearest to a chenier are oriented parallel to the chenier to keep the water near the field for as long as possible ‘The construction of raised-fields had many advantages: = it facilitated the use of swampy areas for prodaction; = itimproved the quality ofthe soil by bringing oxygen in the soil and reducing its compactness; - the fields were fertiised regularly with organic material from the boitort of the ditches around the fields; eral long canals (or instance 150 x 2 m) were present to bring water to the complex of raised-fields, and/or to remove any excess water, Possibly these canals were used for fishing In the next paragraphs, we discuss the four cultures that are distinguished in the Guianas within the Arauquinoid Tradition: Hertenrits, Kwatta, Barbakoeba and Thémire. These cultures are primarily defined on the basis of differences in pottery style, economic differences and territories in which the sites are found. The four pottery styles are distinctly related to one other, although one to one similarities do not occur. ‘The Hertenrits culture ‘The Hertenrits culture was defined by Geijskes (1963) after excavations in the Hertenrts mound in Surinam. Later, this culture was studied more closely and described by Boomert (1976 and 1980) and by Versteeg (1985). The Hertenrits culture, characterised by artificial mounds and some other sites, is found between the Berbice and the Coppename Rivers. This area is ¢. 210 km long and 25 km wide, Thirteen Hertenrits sites are located in this area. Seasonal inundation of parts of the West Surinam coastal plain renders human occupation 236 ‘Stéphen ROSTAIN and Aad H. VERSTEEG difficult. For that reason, Hertenrits groups built artificial mounds in the swamps to construct their villages, in the same way as the earlier Buckleburg mounds were made. It seems that the surroundings of each mound were changed by human activities. For instance, at the Hertenrits site the most important mound (Fig. 11), is surrounded by clusters of raised-fields, ‘Two smaller mounds are located nearby the Hertenrits site, diametrically opposed: Wageningen-! at 4 km east of, Hertenrits, and Wageningen-3 at 3 km west. This organisation suggests that the activity area around the Hertenrits mound ‘was precisely defined. ‘The Hertenrits culture is found on all mounds (except the two Buckleburg mounds). In its later form, it also occurs at the Prins Bernhard Polder and the Peruvia sites, which are not mound sites. The Prins Bernhard Polder site will be discussed below. Peruvie is a settlement on a sand ridge, located a few kilometres west of the Coppename River. The decorative patterns of the Late Hertenrts pottery suggest a high level of artistry and the rich animal and human representations point to a rich ideological background (Fig. 4). There are strong similarities between Hertenrits and Peravia pottery, but also & number of distinct characteristics in Peruvia, such as painting (Wersteeg 1985), typical for a border site between Hertenrits and Kwatta territories. Besides pottery, many animal bones have been excavated in the mounds: bones from deer and caymans are most abundant, followed by manatees, catfish and crab. Other animal bones are also found, but in smaller quantities. It i evident that the Indians hunted in different environments that were not too far from the mounds: deer and cayman in the coastal swamps (the Hertenrits even is called “deer ridge”) and manatee in the coastal rivers such as the Nickerie, in which manatee were abundant in Colonial times (Versteeg 1985: note 33). Some sites seem to have been used specifically for ceremoni activities. Prins Bernhard Polder, situated to the west of the area of the mounds, is a unique site containing an enormous number of elaborately decorated finds, not only pottery, but also artifacts of bone, stone and shell. An extraordinary find, a spade of hard wood, from a deep layer under the soil water level is complete, but for a broken handle. It is unique for Surinam since despite a large number of finds, no black terra preta sections could be distinguished. The finds were uncovered in and beside smal, round hills, totally different from all fields in the coastal plain, The quality of the material finds and the remarkable site-soil suggests a function of ths site other than that of a settlement, namely a ceremonial function. Artifacts connected to ideology seem (o suggest a common identity or religion among the people of the Arauquinoid Tradition. The Late Hertenrits pottery is characterised by the frequent appearance of human representations. Human faces are made with appliqués on lugs or modelled as adornos, and small hollow figurines are also found. Like the Corozal site on the Middle Orinoco, ceramic adornos and representations on pots and vessels changed during the Arauquinoid phase from animals, to humans. Roosevelt (1997) relates the appearance of haman representations in the Arauquinoid pottery tothe rise of social ‘The Avauguinoid Tradition in the Guianas stratification, and to a cult of ancestor-chiefs. Moreover, the figurines representing pregnant females found in the Corozal and the Prins Bernhard Polder sites may be connected to ferility rituals (Fig. 6) ‘The Kwatta culture Geijskes excavated the most important Kwatta site, Kwatta Tingiholo. Its main characteristics have been described by Boomert (1977). The Kwatta sites are located between the Coppename and Surinam Rivers, which represemts an area 92 km long and 30 km wide. Kwatta is the only Arauguinoid cculture that is not associated with raised fields. Apparently,

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