642 ANNUAL, REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1920. 



portion collected in a vessel set beneath ; a woman decorating a tree 

 gourd bowl with characteristic interlocking designs, and a child hold- 

 ing a pet bird and flowers. A hammock swinging from two house 

 posts represents the bed in general use in Mexico, and Central and 

 South America. (See pi. 54.) 



DWELLING GROUP OF THE GOAJIROS INDIANS. 



The discoverers of the northern coast of South America were as- 

 tonished to find tribes living in huts built out over the water, and 

 so they gave to this region the name of Venezuela, or Little Venice. 

 These huts, only a few feet square, stood among the trees, on plat- 

 forms constructed by interlacing the stems. These structures were 

 afterwards supported on piles driven into the mud and stood 5 

 or 6 feet above the water. In the center of each platform was a 

 pile of earth, and on this the fire was built and kept continually 

 burning. Over the platform was suspended a low roof, thatched 

 with palm leaves. Access to the house was had by means of a 

 notched tree trunk. The natives moved about in dugout canoes, 

 and, when the water was high, one of these could be seen tied to 

 every notched ladder. Little clothing was worn, but there was 

 much decoration of the person with feathers and seeds, and with 

 the bones and teeth of small animals. (See pi. 55.) 



DWELLING GROUP OF THE JAMAMADI INDIANS. 



The Jamamadi live on the upper Purus River in western Brazil. 

 Their houses, which contain many families, are sometimes 130 feet 

 in diameter and 70 feet high, and consist of an elaborate frame- 

 work thatched with palm leaf. There are also small shelters with 

 floors raised from the ground for special uses in preparing food, 

 or as poorer dwellings. These houses are always built near the 

 banks of navigable streams. Canoes are made by folding up at 

 the ends strips of bark taken from a large tree. The principal 

 subsistence is cassava and maize. The cassava roots are grated on 

 a board set with sharp pieces of stone, the poisonous juice pressed 

 out in a tubular basket, and the starchy residue ground into flour. 

 Basket making, wood carving, and other minor arts are similar 

 to those of tropical South America. (See pi. 56.) 



JIVARO INDIAN CHIEF. 



The Jivaros are an independent stock of aborigines living on 

 the headwaters of the Pastaza, Santiago, and other affluents of the 

 Maranon River, Peru. They hunt and fish with the sarbacan or 

 blowtube, the spear, and with bows and arrows. They also prac- 

 tice a primitive agriculture. Their houses, as well as their tools, 

 are of wood. They use for signaling huge wooden drums and pre- 



