onaend ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITISH GUIANA 29 
Level .50-.75 m_._ Up to 70 cm. the conditions are the same as above, with 
a rather even intermixture of well pulverized shell, 
bone, crab claws and carapaces, ash and dirt. At 70 
cm. there was a deposit of well compacted shelis of 
many species, intermixed with fish bones, remains of 
crabs, palm seeds and a minimum of dirt. 
Level 0.75-1.00 m__ Pulverized, broken shells abundant. All bones are so in- 
crusted with calcium carbonate that they are uniden- 
tifiable in the field. Dirt still intermixed with the 
shell in streaks of black to gray-brown. Hard layers 
from 2-3 em. thick are scattered throughout the level 
suggesting that when a basket of ashes was dumped, 
chemical action caused by water filtering through the 
ash and onto the shell cemented the mass together. 
Level 1.00-1.25 m__ All conditions the same except at 1.10 meters, where a 
cemented layer of shells, ete. from 2-3 cm. thick, ex- 
tends across the entire cut. Natural, unworked pieces 
of quartz, feldspar, andesite, and limonite concre- 
tions also present. 
Level 1.25-1.50 m__ Dirt and shell intermixed ; at 1.25 meters there are large 
hunks of cemented material reaching 10 cm. thick. 
Level 1.50-1.75 m__ Dirt and pulverized shell continue but stone less com- 
mon; fire-burnt piece of quartz. 
Level 1.75-2.00 m__ After the removal of several large hunks of cemented 
materials at 1.75 meters, no more compacted material 
was found. Dirt and pulverized shell with the dirt 
now tending to be a lighter tan and brown. Fire 
burnt hunks of granite. 
Level 2.00-2.25 m__ Streaks of orange, fire-burnt areas containing black and 
gray ash intermixed with dirt, pulverized shell, and 
fire-burnt andesite rocks. 
Level 2.25-2.60 m__ Same conditions as above layer. At 2.60 meters sterile, 
natural soil of light-gray sand containing coarse, large, 
decomposed-granite particles appeared. 
The shells from the midden include: Veritina zebra Bruguiére, My- 
tilus falcatus Orbigny, Phacoides pectinatus Gmelin, Melongena me- 
longena Linné, and Thais coronata Lamarck. The last species is the 
first record for this type of snail in the Guianas. It is an estuary, 
brackish-water snail that clings to the roots of mangrove trees. De- 
tailed comments of distribution and ecological adaptation are found 
for the other species under the discussion for Site N-6 (p. 27). 
N-9: ALAKA ISLAND 
The land around the mouth of Warapoco Creek is mangrove swamp. 
Thirty meters inward from the bank of the Waini, on the left side of 
Warapoco Creek, is an elevated spot with large granite outcrops. 
Black dirt and shells were scattered widely, churned up by the burrow- 
ings of armadillos and their hunters. Although the midden was over- 
grown principally with small trees, hanging vines and shrubs, a few 
trees measured up to 1 meter in diameter. In addition to shells, a few 
