EH d 
= ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITISH GUIANA Pa: 
Figure 3.—Worked stones from the nonceramic site of R-4: Tabatinga, on the Rupununi 
savanna. 
side. The fragment is 3.5 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide at one end, tapering 
to 0.8 cm. at the other end. Maximum thickness is 1.1 cm. at the 
wide end and middle, tapering toward the point. ‘Two small quartz 
chips were associated, but these show no evidence of working. 
COMPARATIVE DATA, CONCLUSIONS, AND INTERPRETATIONS 
The preceramic lithic artifacts in British Guiana present a problem 
when it comes to interpreting the significance of the finds. Although 
the evidence of this cultural horizon is meager, the fact that no 
similar stoneworking tradition occurs associated with any of the 
pottery-making cultures of British Guiana indicates that it repre- 
sents a separate and earlier occupation. ‘There is no indication of 
how much earlier it may have been. Comparative analysis is ham- 
pered by the fact that the shape and size of the points, type of work- 
manship, and stone material are different from those of any of the 
other known preceramic lithic complexes in South America, includ- 
ing scattered finds from the Gran Sabana of eastern Venezuela in 
the region adjoining British Guiana (Dupouy, 1958). This does not 
mean that resemblances cannot be seen in isolated specimens from the 
lithic complexes of the caves of the Sierras Centrales and the pampas 
of Argentina (Gonzalez, MS.; Holmes, 1912, pl. 18), Palli Aike Cave 
in Patagonia (Bird, 1946, figs. 20-27), or the early sites of coastal 
Peru, such as Pampa de los Fésiles (Larco Hoyle, 1948, pp. 11, 63), 
