ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 9 



in other isles. The results of the investigations in Trini- 

 dad proved to be esj^ecially important, owing to the light 

 which they shed on the material culture of the former 

 aborigines of the coast adjacent to South America. 



Extensive excavations were made in a large shell heap, 

 known as Chip-chip Hill, on the shore of Erin Bay in 

 the Cedros district. This midden is historic, for it was 

 in Erin Bay that Colmnbus anchored on his third voyage, 

 sending men ashore to fill their casks at the spring or 

 stream near this Indian mound. Chip-chip Hill is now 

 covered with buildings to so great an extent that it was 

 possible to conduct excavations only at its periphery; 

 nevertheless the diggings yielded a rich and unique col- 

 lection that well illustrates the culture of the natives 

 of this part of Trinidad. The collection consists of sev- 

 eral fine unbroken pottery vessels with painted decoration, 

 and more than a hundred well-made effigy heads of clay, 

 in addition to effigy jars and many broken decorated bowls. 

 There were also obtained from the Erin Bay midden sev- 

 eral stone hatchets characteristic of Trinidad and the ad- 

 jacent coast of South America, a few shell and bone gor- 

 gets, and other artifacts illustrating the activities of the 

 foi*mer inliabitants. It is an interesting fact that as a 

 whole the objects here found resemble those that have been 

 taken from shell heaps on the Venezuela coast and from 

 the Pomeroon district of British Guiana more closely than 

 they resemble related sijecunens from the other islands 

 of the Lesser Antilles. Several other middens were 

 examined in Trinidad, the most representative of which 

 is situated near San Jose, the old Spanish capital. Prom- 

 ising shell heaps were discovered also at Mayaro Bay on 

 the eastern coast. 



One of the most important results of the West Indian 

 field work by Dr. Pewkes was a determination of the 

 geographical distribution of certain tyi^es of artifacts and 

 a comparison of the prehistoric culture areas in the so- 

 called Carib Islands. Evidence of the existence of a 

 sedentary culture on these islands preceding that of the 



