mu.t.ekv i PETROGLYPHS IN GUIANA. 41 



These two kinds of engraving may, for tin- sake of convenience, be distinguished as 

 ' deep,' [a typical example of which isinFigure2] and 'shallow' [typical example Figure 

 3,] respectively, according as the figures are deeply cut into the rock or are merely 

 scratched on thesurface. Theformer * * vary from one-eighth to one-half ofaniuch, 

 or even more, in depth ; the latter are of quite inconsiderable depth. This difference 

 probably corresponds with a difference in the means by which they were produced. 

 The deep engravings seem cut iLto the rock with an edged tool, probably of stone : 

 the shallow figures were apparently formed by long continued friction with stones 

 and moist sand. The two kinds seem never to occur in the same place or even 

 near to each other ; in fact, a distinct line may almost be drawn between the districts 

 in which the deep and shallow kinds occur, respectively ; the deep * * form occurs at 

 several spots on the Mazeruni, Essequibo, Ireug, Cotinga, Potaro, and Berbice Rivers. 

 The shallow form has as yet only been reported from the Corentyu River and its tribu- 

 taries, where, however, examples occur in considerable abundance. But the two 

 kinds differ not only in the depth of incision, in the apparent mode of their produc- 

 tion, and in the place of their occurrence, but also — and this is the chief difference be- 

 tween the two — in the figures represented. 



* * * # # * * 



They (the shallow engravings) seem always to occur on comparatively large and 

 more or less smooth surfaces of rock, and rarely, if ever, as the deep figures, on de- 

 tached blocks of rock, piled one on the other. The shallow figures, too, are generally 

 much larger, always combinations of straight or curved lines in figures much more 

 elaborate than those which occur in the deep engravings ; and these shallow pictures 

 always represent not animals, but greater or less variations of the figure which lias 

 been described. Lastly, though I am not certain that much significance can be at- 

 tributed to this, all the examples that I have seen face more or less accurately east- 

 ward. 



The deep engravings, oh the other hand, consist not of a single figure-but of a greater or 

 less number of rude drawings. * These depict the human form, monkeys, snakes, 



and other animals, and also very simple combinations of two or three straight or 

 curved lines in a pattern, and occasionally more elaborate combinations. The in- 

 dividual figures are small, averaging from twelve to eighteen inches in height, but a 

 considerable number are generally represented in a group. 



Some of the best examples of this latter kind are at Warrapoota cataracts, about 

 six days' .journey up the Essequibo. 



The commonest figures at Warrapoota are figures of men or perhaps 

 sometimes monkeys. These are very simple, and generally consist of one straight 

 line, representing the trunk, crossed by two straight lines at right angles to the body 

 line: one, about two-thirds of the distance from the top, represents the two arms as 

 far as the elbows, where upward lines represent the lower part of the arms; the 

 other, which is at the lower end, represents the two legs as far as the knees, from 

 which point, downward lines represent the lower part of the legs. A round dot, or a 

 small circle, at the top of the trunk-line, forms the head : and there are a few radiat- 

 ing lines where the fingers, a few more where the toes, should be. Occasionally the 

 trunk-line is produced downwards as if to represent a long tail. Perhaps the tail- 

 less figures represent men, the tailed monkeys. In a few cases the trunk, instead of 

 being indicated by one straight line, is formed by two curved lines, representing the 

 rounded outlines of the body; and the body, thus termed, is bisected by a row of 

 dots, almost invariably niue in number, which seem to represent vertebra-. 



Most of the other figures at Warrapoota are very simple combinations of two, three, 

 or four straight lines similar to the so-called 'Greek meander pattern,' which is of 

 such widespread occurrence. Combinations of curved lines and simple spiral lines 

 also frequently occur. Many of these combinations closely resemble the figures which 

 the Indians of the present day paint on their faces and naked bodies. The resem- 

 blance is, however, not so great but that it may be merely due to the fact that the 



