Precolumbian Decoration of the Teeth in Ecuador; With Some Account of the Occurrence of the Custom in Other Parts of North and South America Volume 1, (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt: ... A SHELL-HEAP AT ERIN BAY, TRINIDAD By J. WALTER FEWKES Introduction IN the winter of 1912-13 the author visited the Lesser Antilles with a view of gathering data for a contemplated memoir on the aborigines of those islands.1 He visited the more important private collections of prehistoric objects, as well as those in public libraries and museums on the islands. Incidentally he carried on excavations, of a limited nature, at Banana bay, Balliceaux, where the Black Caribs of St Vincent had a settlement before they were deported to Ruatan on the coast of Honduras. Excavations believed to be important were made in a shell-heap in Trinidad, one of the largest and culturally most important of the Lesser Antilles. The present paper considers the more instructive results of the work last mentioned. Trinidad is well adapted for the home of an aboriginal people. It has constant fresh water, an abundant supply of food, its mountains and plains being well stocked with animals, the sea affording an abundance of fish, mollusks, and crabs, and its soil yielding a large variety of edible roots and fruits. The island lies in full view of the coast of South America and was visible to the natives inhabiting the Orinoco delta. On its lee side the water is shallow, but landing can be made at many places in small craft. There are high hills in the interior, level savannahs along the coasts as well as inland, and streams of fresh water that open into brackish lagoons. Early historical references to the Indians inhabiting Trinidad date from the discovery of the island by the great Genoese. As 1 This visit was made under the joint auspices of the Bureau of American Ethnology and the Heye Museum. The specimens collected are in the latter institution. Columbus on...