40 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL 



embraces regions of low bottom land, inundated every year by the overflowing of 

 large rivers ; or sandy deserts, lifted above the sea in recent geological epochs ; and 

 all gradations of height reaching above the line of perpetual snow. Tliis diversity 

 of location and climate must naturally have had its influence upon the habitations, 

 food, etc. of the inhabitants. 



In Central America the dwellings are on a level with the ground, and made of 

 reeds, bamboo, split trunks of trees, or dried mud. Similar materials are used 

 in South America, but the construction of the dwelling varies considerably. On 

 the seacoast of Ecuador as far inland as the inundations of the rivers extend, and 

 even in localities which are not thus exposed, the dwellings are erected on posts, 

 generally nine in number, and about seven feet above the ground. Steps lead to 

 the floor above, which, as well as the sides of the building, is constructed of 

 thick bamboo stocks opened and incised so as to spread out like a board. The 

 rafters are likewise of split bamboo, and are covered with palm-leaves to form the 

 roof. In most cases one such structure answers all purposes; exceptionally, some 

 feet distant from it a similar one of smaller dimensions serves as a kitchen. In 

 such cases the two are united by a bridge. The empty space below, between the 

 posts, is used for storing the canoe or some wood. 



On the river Guayaquil I found some floating houses erected on balsas, rafts of 

 a very light wood, which were large enough to accommodate, besides the house, a 

 pigsty, and even furnished room for a small garden and some fowls. In the ele- 

 vated regions of the country the dwellings resemble in material and form those of 

 Central America, varying with the location, until on the high plateaus of the 

 Andes which are mostly used for pasture, the dwellings dwindle down to a simple 

 roof of straw or dried grass resting on the ground, in which a low opening serves 

 as an entrance. 



When dried mud is used for the construction of a building or the wall of an 

 enclosure, it is not made into bricks, but the clay or mud, sufficiently moistened, 

 is trodden in a box made of thick boards, about three feet wide, four feet long, 

 and a foot and a half or more deep, open at the top and bottom, until the box is 

 full. The clay is left until the next day, when it is sufficiently solid to remove the 

 box, which is so constructed as to be taken apart and put together again. In this 

 manner a part of the wall is finished every day. The work goes on more speedily 

 when several boxes can be used at' once. 



All the dwellings are constructed without chimneys, excepting in the villages 

 of Tusa and Puntal, openings in the side of the roof serving to let out the smoke. 

 The inhabitants of South America diff"er from those of Central America also in 

 their food. In the latter countries tortillas and beans constitute the principal food; 

 only in a few sections are these replaced by baked green plantains, as in parts of 

 Nicaragua; or, by tuberous roots, as the yucca, sweet potato, etc., which is the 

 case with the Peschchas (Germ, spell.). When potatoes are planted there it is 

 done as an object of industry, but not to form tlie exclusive nourishment of the 

 planter. It is otherwise in South America, where there is a greater variety of food. 

 Near the seacoast rice and leguminous seeds, as beans, peas, and lentils, form the 

 principal diet, not only of the poorer classes, but also of the rich. Every meal ot 



