xx PREFACE 
unfailing good humor contributed in large part to create the fond 
memories we have of British Guiana. 
Among the Government officials who received us graciously and 
facilitated our work are: Mr. J. L. Fletcher, then Acting Colonial 
Secretary; Mr. J. B. Bamford, Commissioner of Interior; Mr, W. T. 
Lord, Commissioner of Lands and Mines; Mr. W. A. Angoy, District 
Commissioner, Rupununi District; Mr. J. Young, District Commis- 
sioner, Northwest District; and Dr. C. R. Jones, Medical Officer to 
the Amerindians. These gentlemen introduced us to local residents, 
helped us with transportation, and in several cases took considerable 
interest in our work. Their cooperation was invaluable and we regret 
that public acknowledgment has taken so long. 
Although much of the area in which we worked is public domain, 
we occasionally had to seek permission to trespass from private 
owners, especially in the Rupununi District. This was readily 
granted, and in most cases was accompanied by an invitation to come 
as guests of the owner. For a warm welcome and generous hos- 
pitality, we wish to express our thanks to Mr. B, L. Hart and his 
family of Pirara, Mr. and Mrs. Caesar Gorinsky of Good Hope, Mr. 
and Mrs. Harry Turner of Dadanawa, all on the Rupununi savan- 
nas; to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hawkins and Miss Florence Riedle of 
Kanashen on the upper Essequibo River; and to Mr. Alfred Read of 
Taurakuli on the Abary River. Among the many others who gave 
us help, we should like to mention Sgt. Cornelius Douglas and Con- 
stable Leslie Chin then of the Annai Police Station, Father J. V. 
McKenna of Sand Creek, Mr. Edward E, Melville of Lethem, Mr. 
James Brown of Dadanawa, Mr. Lawrence Hart of Pirara, Mr. 
W. M. ©. Bagshaw of the Forestry Department, Northwest District, 
Mr. Harry Madramoto, Department of Agriculture, Hosororo Sta- 
tion, Mr. and Mrs. Claude W. Leavitt of the Unevangelized Fields 
Mission, Mr. R. J. McKenzie, Manager of Plantation Lusignan, and 
Col, A. J. Williams of British Guiana Airways. 
A special word of thanks is due Robert and Florine Hawkins, 
missionaries of the Unevangelized Fields Mission among the Wai 
Wai Indians of the upper Essequibo. Without their invitation, it 
would have been impractical to try to do archeological work in that 
region in the short time available to us. They placed a boat at our 
disposal, acted as interpreters between us and the Wai Wai, allowed 
us to make their mission our base of operations, and cooperated in 
many other ways, with the result that this part of the survey was one 
of the most successful. When we took a picnic lunch with sandwiches 
of Florine’s homemade bread, it required some mental effort to real- 
ize we were actually in the heart of the Guiana forests. 
We met many other Guianese in all walks of life and of all races. 
We found them delightful companions, friendly, helpful, cheerful, 
