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Archaeology of Cotua Island, Amazonas Territory, Venezuela

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

José M. Ceuxent
José M. Ceuxent*
Affiliation:
Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Caracas, Venezuela
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Extract

Cotua Island is situated among the Yavariven Rapids of the Orinoco River northwest of the island of María Auxiliadora in Latitude 5°35'N and Longitude 67°35'W (Fig. 4). It measures some 2000 meters long and 500 meters wide.

About four years ago, when the waters of the Orinoco were unusually high, they completely covered the island. Nevertheless, a Creole is now living there, as the fertility of the soil is great enough to overcome his fear that the river will again rise over the island. Directly west of his house, the water has eroded pebbles and Indian potsherds from the ground (Fig. 4, 4). To the southeast, on Maria Auxiliadora Island, there are petroglyphs (Fig. 4, 1), and in addition both islands bear workshops, where the Indians appear to have ground stone artifacts on outcrops of rock (Fig. 4, 2, 3, 5).

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , July 1950 , pp. 10 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1950

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References

1 Cornelius Osgood and Howard, George D., “An Archeological Survey of Venezuela,” Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No. 27, New Haven, 1943 Google Scholar, Fig. 22.

2 Material in the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Caracas, Venezuela.

3 Osgood and Howard, op. cit., Fig. 18.

4 Howard, George D., “Excavations at Ronquín, Venezuela,” Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No. 28, New Haven, 1943 Google Scholar.

5 See above, p. 9. Editor.

6 Kidder, Alfred V., “The Archeology of Venezuela,” in “The Handbook of South American Indians,” Bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology, No. 143, Vol. 4, Washington, 1948, pp. 432–3.Google Scholar