A d 
menses ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITISH GUIANA 263 
The first record of the Taruma is not in British Guiana, but at the 
mouth of the Rio Negro in Brazil. According to Nery (1901, p. 41): 
The first navigator of the Rio Negro seems to have been Pedro de Costa 
Favella in 1668-69, who went there in company with Father Theodosio, of the 
Order of Mercy or Redemption, and entered into communication with the 
Taruma Indians by means of the Aruaquys, and with their assistance founded 
the first town on this river. 
Brett (1852, p. 350) gives a similar account of their origin and elabo- 
rates on their subsequent history : 
The Tarumas formerly lived near the mouth of the Rio Negro. The Carme- 
lites had a Mission among them as early as 1670. Disagreeing with other tribes, 
and being ill-used by the Portuguese, a portion of them fled northward, and 
settled near the head-waters of the Essequibo. Death made such ravages among 
those who remained, that the tribe was considered extinct. Mahanarva, the 
well-known Caribi chief, brought the first information of their existence to 
Demerara, but his account was so exaggerated that they were described as 
amphibious, and taking shelter in caverns under water. They are about four 
hundred in number, and their language differs from that of the other Indians 
of Guiana. 
A map of the Guiana region by Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla, 
dating from 1771 to 1775, shows the Taruma in British Guiana, west 
of the Essequibo and north of the mountains (Cartografia Historica 
de Venezuela, 1946, p. 19). Another map made by Luis de Surville 
in 1778 shows them in the same location (op. cit., p. 21). ‘The position 
on these maps agrees with the archeological distribution of the Taruma 
Phase and establishes a minimum antiquity for the Phase in the upper 
Essequibo area. If the migration mentioned by Brett took place 
shortly after 1670, and was a relatively rapid one, the introduction of 
the Taruma into British Guiana must have taken place around the 
beginning of the 18th century. 
This documentation indicating an Amazonian origin for the Taruma 
Phase is difficult to check by archeological comparative data. The 
region from which the Taruma are said to have come, the left bank 
of the Rio Negro near its mouth, is unknown archeologically. Cer- 
tain ceramic traits of the Taruma Phase, however, suggests a southern 
origin, especially the delicate red-painted designs on a fine white slip 
characteristic of Manakakashin Red-on-White. Sherds very similar 
to these have been reported from Manacapurt, just above the mouth 
of the Rio Negro (Hilbert, pers. corres.). By contrast, none of the 
Taruma Phase pottery features relate to coastal complexes, where 
painting is absent, modeling is frequent, and incision is different in 
technique and motif. If linguistic evaluations that place Taruma 
as an independent language, or at least non-Arawakan and non-Cari- 
ban, are to be believed, this additional evidence would also support 
an intrusive origin into the central Guianas. 
