256 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 177 
PottrRyY ARTIFACT TYPES 
Fired clay was used for the manufacture of two types of objects in 
addition to containers. These are pot rests and spindle whorls. 
Pot rests (pl. 50).—Solid, cylindrical, crudely modeled pottery sup- 
ports were made for use in threes to raise the vessel above the cooking 
fire. The Wai Wai stated that “any old clay” was used for these, 
whereas the clay used for pottery making came from special deposits 
where the quality was better. Three complete specimens, collected 
from the Wai Wai in 1952, measure 15-16 cm. in height, 8-9 cm. in 
base diameter, and 7-9 cm. in top diameter. In spite of a flat base the 
pot rests do not stand vertical but lean slightly. The upper ends 
are not level but slope slightly. The sides are straight or slightly con- 
cave, with the minimum diameter a little above center. The tops are 
ornamented with a central depression and a surrounding circular 
groove, both made with the finger tip. Fragments from the arche- 
ological sites are similar in form and construction, and measure 8-10 
cm. in diameter at the ends. 
Spindle whoris (fig. 106, d).—Flattened, globular lumps of pottery, 
perforated through the center for the insertion of a stick, were manu- 
factured as spindle weights. Of the two specimens available, one 
from E-2 has a dark-brown to black surface, smoothed insufficiently 
to remove all the rough spots. The other, from an existing village, has 
a brown to black mottled surface coated with transparent resin giving 
a glaze. Diameters are 3.3 and 4.0 cm., thickness 2.0 and 3.2 cm. 
respectively. The perforation is slightly off center in both, 4 mm. in 
diameter, and made by puncturing when the clay was soft. 
OBJECTS OF HUROPEAN ORIGIN 
The Wai Wai have had contact with Europeans for more than a 
century, but until the establishment of a missionary station in 1949 
on the upper Essequibo, this contact was sporadic and intermittent. 
Trade materials consisted mainly of steel implements such as knives, 
axes, fishhooks, and hoes; objects of adornment such as glass beads and 
novelties; mirrors, plastic combs, glass bottles or chinaware. With 
their entry into British Guiana, the Wai Wai have had increasing 
access to metal containers, both iron cooking pots and enameled bowls, 
and their use appears to be reflected in the relatively small amount of 
potsherd refuse at E-2 and E-11 in comparison to Taruma Phase 
habitation sites. 
Items of European origin collected at E-2 are as follows: 1 frag- 
ment of the bottom of a pale-green glass bottle with a rounded base; 
1 fragment of a mirror made of glass 6.5 mm. thick; and 1,144 glass 
“seed” beads, some still strung on twisted cotton thread. They include 
