224 Artificial Mounds of the Island of Marajó, Brazil. [ April, 
THE ARTIFICIAL MOUNDS OF THE ISLAND OF 
MARAJO, BRAZIL? 
BY ORVILLE A. DERBY, 
Of all the localities in Brazil where the remains of ancient In- 
dian tribes have been found, the Island of Marajó is the most in- 
. teresting to the archeologist. Whether the race at this point was 
a superior one, or whether the conditions under which they lived 
were more favorable, it is certain that the ancient inhabitants of 
Marajo, or at least a portion of them, made greater advancement 
toward civilization than any other of the aboriginal tribes, having 
excelled in the arts those of every other part of Brazil, so far as 
we know to-day. In addition to shell-heaps and stone imple- 
ments, similar to those existing in nearly all the provinces of 
Brazil, there are found at Marajo antiquities whose characters are 
quite peculiar to that locality and indicate superiority. I refer to 
the artificial mounds and the objects they contain, of which I pro- 
pose to give a brief description. 
Marajo, like all the region about the mouth of the Amazonas, 
is very low, and excepting a small tract in the east, is so slightly | 
elevated above the level of the river, that in the winter it becomes 
changed into a large lake. Over all its expanse there is nota 
single natural elevation that might be called a hill, the portions 
not subject to overflow, being very gentle undulations of the sur- 
face, having a height of only a few metres above the surface of 
the water. As explained by its indefatigable explorer, Dr. S. 
Ferreira Penna, of Para, the island may be divided into two nearly 
equal parts; the western, covered with forests in which abounds 
the India rubber tree, and the eastern, consisting of plains. It 
is the eastern part that concerns us now. 
The plains being covered with a heavy growth of rich grass, 
constitute a good grazing ground, and are thus well suited to the 
raising of cattle, which is to-day almost their only industry. 
The farmers have, however, to contend with many difficulties, 
due in part to the structure of the island. Every year many 
1 Several of the Museums of this country possess collections of pottery from 
Marajó, procured either by the late Professor Hartt, or by others; but up to this time 
no accurate account of the region whence they were obtained, has been published. 
The following translation of a short article, descriptive of this interesting island, 
which appeared in the Vulgarisador of Rio de Janeiro, ei z= ST may 
thus prove acceptable to American archæologists.—RICHARD RATH 
