B d 
oaae ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITISH GUIANA 5 
The greatest problem of savanna archeology was transportation of 
the specimens. People of the Rupununi Phase practiced secondary 
burial in large urns, and it seemed desirable to collect some of these 
complete specimens for the British Guiana Museum and the U.S. 
National Museum. Burial sites were always relatively remote rock 
shelters accessible by foot or at best by horse. The form and size 
of the jars made them ill adapted for carrying lashed to a pack 
saddle on a horse or bullock, but we managed to transport some of 
them this way. Once we resorted to a bullock cart (pl. 4, @), which 
jolted and twisted so badly that it was necessary to ride with the load 
of vessels and sherds resting on specimen bags filled with grass to 
keep it from being thrown to the ground. The iron wheels transmitted 
the resistance of every pebble, tuft of grass, or ant hill to the riders 
and this method of transportation was unquestionably the most un- 
pleasant that we encountered anywhere in South America. 
On December 11, we boarded a chartered DC-3 plane at Wichabai, 
and landed half an hour later in a small clearing called Gunn’s 
Strip (pl. 4, 0), an hour’s walk from the bank of the Essequibo River. 
We were met by Wai Wai Indians, who carried our baggage, with 
that of our hosts, representatives of the Unevangelized Fields Mission, 
to the water’s edge. Here it was placed in dugouts and taken upriver 
to Kanashen, the missionaries’ home (fig. 1) and our main base of 
operations for the next 6 weeks. Work in this part of British Guiana 
was simplified immensely by the generous cooperation of the mis- 
Slonaries, who spoke the Wai Wai language and thus were able to con- 
vey our wishes to the Indians and to arrange for one or more of them 
to accompany us as paddlers, hunters, and guides. 
This part of the trip was a unique and delightful experience. We 
traveled both up and down the Essequibo River and minor tributaries, 
locating and excavating sites and stopping to camp wherever night- 
fall caught us (pl. 6, a). For the most part, we were out of contact 
with other human beings. Yukumé, our Wai Wai guide, was an 
excellent hunter and kept us provided with a variety of fresh fish, 
fowl, and occasional small mammals and monkeys, which he roasted 
by night on a badricot over a smoky fire with delicious results. A1- 
though we were working during the “little rainy season,” the rain 
fortunately came almost exclusively at night. Waterproof nylon 
tarps stretched over our hammocks protected us from the torrential 
downpour that frequently came before dawn. Lack of insects at this 
time of year made sleep possible without nets. When we camped near 
a Wai Wai village, the Indians showed friendly interest in us and our 
belongings. The canvas water bucket was a source of constant amaze- 
ment, and the primus stove was always an object of much discussion. 
We were offered pepper pot and cassava bread (pl. 6, 6) or one of 
