EB d 
eect ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITISH GUIANA 323 
fact that none of the habitation sites in the south savanna produced 
any European trade materials except R-36, which is at the middle of 
the seriated sequence and relatively late. R-8, just north of the 
Kanuku Mountains, is the earliest habitation site with trade mate- 
rials, and these are dated 1825-50. 
ETHNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE 
In historic times the Rupununi savanna has been inhabited by two 
tribes, the Cariban-speaking Macusi in the north and the Arawakan- 
speaking Wapisiana in the south. Neither group has been the subject 
of detailed ethnographic investigation, although Farabee and others 
have reported on various aspects of their culture. In 1952 both were 
acculturated to a considerable degree although the aboriginal lan- 
guages continued in use. No attempt will be made here to summarize 
all recorded ethnographic data, but only those aspects of the culture 
that have bearing on the archeological remains. 
Subsistence.—Since the savanna is unsuitable for cultivation, the 
fields of both Wapisiana and Macusi are in the forest, usually at a 
considerable distance from the village. Clearing is done in the dry 
season. The vegetation is not piled but left where it falls. Burning 
consumes the leaves and small branches but only chars the trunks. 
Planting takes place at the beginning of the rainy season. Digging 
sticks are the main agricultural tools, the aboriginal wooden imple- 
ment being replaced by one with an iron point. The Macusi also use 
hoes (Farabee, 1924, p. 30). Bitter manioc is the main crop. Maize, 
sweetpotatoes, sugarcane, sweet manioc, pineapples, pumpkins, to- 
bacco, peppers, bananas, plantains, cashew, and papaya are also 
planted (Farabee, 1918, pp. 31-2). Fields are abandoned after 3 
years (1924, p. 32). 
Hunting and fishing contribute to the food supply but are less im- 
portant than among the forest tribes (Farabee, 1924, p. 163). 
Settlement pattern.—Farabee’s descriptions of Wapisiana and Ma- 
cusi village location and arrangement are almost identical. Both are 
said to be in the open savanna, typically at a considerable distance 
from the cultivated fields (Farabee, 1918, p. 15; 1924, p.15). Houses 
are not arranged according to a plan and vary from closely spaced to 
widely scattered (loc. cit.). 
House.—Wapisiana and Macusi houses may be for single family 
or multiple family occupancy. Size varies accordingly. Form may 
be rectangular, circular, or elliptical. Communal houses have no 
partitions, but each family has its own section. The floor is hard 
packed earth from which the surface soil was removed (Farabee, 
1918, pp. 18-19; 1924, p. 18). 
