leads Reichel-Dolmatoff to believe that there were mi- 
grations towards Venezuela by way of the César River. 
That northern Colombia is an important crossroads re- 
gion is now accepted by authorities (42). 
One proven transmission by way of northern Colombia 
is that of maize. From Middle America ‘‘according to 
current beliefs of experts on the ‘intermediate area’, it 
spread south and east, reaching western Venezuela by 
way of Colombia’ (69). Wagner (64) found charred 
maize cobs—some with grains—in her Carache, Venezue- 
la, excavations. These were identified by Mangelsdorf 
and Cutler as belonging to the races of Pollo, Huevito 
and/or other varieties of maize. wo specimens were 
‘quite primitive and could be the wild ancestor of the 
modern race Pollo and obviously relate to those of An- 
dean Colombia’’ (30). 
If maize could be transmitted, why not tobacco, es- 
pecially tobacco in a particular form? 
Reichel-Dolmatoff (pers. comm. ) says: ‘‘Il am inclined 
to think [use of tobacco concentrate] is an old aboriginal 
trait and not a recent development, but I admit that I 
have no proof... . There can be no doubt that prehis- 
toric contacts between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta 
and the Andean regions of Venezuela were fairly close 
.... The trait might have passed over the Sierra de 
Perija and the Yuco Indians (who use coca) might have 
been the intermediaries. ”’ 
In summary, it can be said that chim6 appeared in the 
Venezuelan Andes at an early date and definitely was 
there in pre-Columbian times; and that it may have ap- 
peared from the lowlands (transformed by contact with 
the coca complex of the highlands) or have been trans- 
mitted.from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta by tribes 
who made and used ambil, a concentrate practically iden- 
tical to chim6 as known at present. 
[ 89 | 
