E d 
yen ay ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITISH GUIANA 15 
Venezuela 
Curren; ai je SEORGETOWN 
fsse9u 4, 
Dutch 
Guiana 
Brazil 
KEY 
MOUNTAIN 
SAVANNA 
SWAMP 
Ficure 2.—Map of British Guiana showing principal geographical features. 
route for aboriginal contact or migration, that prompted the choice 
of British Guiana for archeological investigation. 
In very general terms, the colony can be divided into three geograph- 
ical zones (fig.2). The narrowest is the tidal swamp along the coast, 
a band of some 50 miles in width. This is dominated by mangrove 
vegetation and dissected by countless small creeks, most of which 
are emptied during low tide. Travel overland is laborious because 
of the combination of densely intertwined branches and above-surface 
roots with fine-grained muck that offers no resistance to weight. Oc- 
casional elevations ranging from small rises to high hills occur in this 
