Archaeological Investigations on the Rio Napo, Eastern Ecuador

Abstract

The eastern slopes of the Andes attracted our attention in 1950, when it became probable that the Marajoara Phase on the island of Marajó at the mouth of the Amazon was derived from northwestern South America. Our first opportunity to investigate the possibilities for archeological fieldwork came when we were in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 1954 and met Coronel Jorge V. Gortoire, who had served for a period as commandant of the Ecuadorian Army Post at Tiputini. Conversation with him reawakened our latent interest in the area, and we began to make specific plans. In October 1956, having been awarded Grant No. 2012 from the Penrose Fund by the American Philosophical Society and granted official detail by the Smithsonian Institution, we returned to Ecuador to undertake the fieldwork.<br/>Through the courtesy of Coronel Rafael Andrade Ochoa, at that time Commander-general of the Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, we received authorization to fly from Quito to Tiputini in an Ecuadorian Air Force DC-3 transport plane. However, almost daily rains maintained the airstrip in unsuitable condition for landing and after several weeks of waiting in Quito for the weather to break, we gave up and arranged to fly by commercial airline in a Junkers Tri-Motor to Shell-Mera and then in a single engine Norseman to Tena. A day on horseback brought us to Latas, where we secured a dugout canoe manned by Quechua-speaking Indians to take us downriver. Although the trip was longer and more difficult than it would have been by air, it gave us invaluable first-hand experience with conditions along the Rio Napo (pls. 1-5). We were able to follow our hourly progress on U.S. Air Force Preliminary Base Map 950A (Scale 1: 500,000), which perfectly reproduced every bend and island. By the afternoon of the fifth day, when we arrived at Tiputini, we were well prepared to appreciate the comments of Orellana&amp;apos;s men, who preceded us by 415 years.<br/>When we stepped on shore at Tiputini, the military post that was to be our base of operations, we were delighted to discover not only that there was an archeological site on the spot, but that the pottery included incised and excised techniques of decoration diagnostic of the Marajoara Phase, although only painted vessels had been previously reported from the Rio Napo. With the cooperation of army personnel and local residents, we were able to investigate a number of sites particularly along the portion of the river between Tiputini and the mouth of the Rio Yasuní, which marks the boundary between Ecuador and Peru. We also checked the lower Rio Tiputini. During our stay, the river was unusually low, and extensive sand bars reduced the channel in places to a slender meandering stream (pl. 4<I>b</I>). Giant trees temporarily resting on beaches (pl. 3<I>b</I>) attested to the force of the current at other times of the year, lending credence to descriptions by Orellana&amp;apos;s companions (see pp. 106-107), who had the misfortune to encounter higher water than we did.<br/>At the conclusion of the survey, we had accumulated several tons of specimens and were sufficiently familiar with the river to look forward to returning to Quito by air. As was the case in October, intermittent rain kept the airstrip soft, but we were prepared to wait as long as necessary this time, since going by river would have taken at least two weeks. An Ecuadorian Air Force DC-3 finally came on December 15, and two hours after takeoff we were in Quito-by every standard of comparison, another world.<br/>We left behind us in the Province of Napo-Pastaza many friends never to be seen again, and memories still fresh as we write this ten years later. Sr. José Bernardo Crespo Pando made us his guests while we worked at Nueva Armenia, and allowed us to use his home as a base from which to visit nearby sites. Philosopher, businessman, and astute observer of the world from afar, he was an invaluable promoter of our cause as well as an entertaining host. Several pleasant days were also spent at the home of Sr. José Rafael Urvina on the Rio Tiputini, where we received all possible cooperation and courtesy. Other land owners who granted us permission to work on their property and to whom we offer our thanks are Sr. Juan Francisco Buitrón (Hacienda San Juan, Cotacocha), Sr. Osvaldo Bijarini Aridi (Florencia), and Sr. Alfonso Antonio Cox Vega (Bello Horizonte). Sr. Pedro Jarrín, at that time Jefe Político of the Junta del Cantón Aguarico, kindly allowed us to dig a few holes in the main street of Nuevo Rocafuerte.<br/>Since we were unable to arrange for a trip to the Rio Aguarico, we are particularly indebted to Rene Alberto Hinoyosa Carrera, then a second lieutenant stationed at Tiputini, who collected sherds for us from Cabo Minacho on the Rio Güepí and Pañacocha on the Rio Cuyabeno (fig. 3). Other young officers at Tiputini, who provided us not only with various kinds of assistance but also with pleasant companionship, include Soloman Hernandez V., Augustín Carvalho V., Raul Costales, and Fausto Bustamonte. We are indebted to the commandant at that time, then Major J. Gonzalo Ramos Sevilla, for permitting us to use Tiputini as our base, and providing us with quarters and other kinds of help.<br/>During our negotiations to enter the Oriente by air, we were aided in numerous ways by Jorge V. Gortaire V., then a colonel and director of the Colegio Militar "Eloy Alfaro" in Quito. Other kinds of help and guidance were provided by Enrique Martinez Q., manager of the Compañía General de Comercio y Mandato in Quito, and his assistant Francisco Punina Y. To these and other military and governmental officials whose names escape us after a decade, we wish to express our appreciation for the many favors, large and small, that we have not forgotten, and which helped to make our visit memorable as well as scientifically fruitful.<br/>Finally, we wish to record our indebtedness to the late Emilio Estrada, who while teasing us for persisting in our "whim" to go to the Rio Napo, exercised his considerable influence to help us secure the necessary permissions from military authorities. Although his interventions were often unobtrusive, it is probable that they were instrumental in making it possible for us to carry out the work described in the present report.<br/>Other obligations have been incurred during efforts to work out the affiliations of Rio Napo archeological complexes. Our ability to trace the downriver movement of the Polychrome Horizon Style (fig. 68) stems from permission granted by the Ethnographical Museum in Göteborg, Sweden, to take detailed notes and photographs during the summer of 1960 of sherd samples collected in the 1920&amp;apos;s by Curt Nimuendajú. This museum work was supported financially by Grant No. 2664 from the Penrose Fund of the American Philosophical Society. Peter Paul Hilbert, who is responsible for what little stratigraphic information is available from the middle and upper Amazon, has again generously made available unpublished data. Donald Lathrap, whose chronological sequence in eastern Peru is one of the rare reliable reference points, has kindly allowed us to consult his unpublished doctoral dissertation at Harvard University, which supplements data secured by examination of the collections from his 1956 fieldwork. We wish also to record our appreciation to the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of the American Indian (Heye Foundation), the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Primitive Art, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (Harvard University), the Musée de l&amp;apos;Homme (Paris), the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi (Belem), the Museu Paulista (São Paulo), the Instituto Geográfico e Histórico do Amazonas (Manaus), the Museo Víctor Emilio Estrada (Guayaquil), the Museo Arqueológico del Banco Central del Ecuador (Quito), and the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (Quito), all of which have granted us permission to examine and photograph specimens or have provided us with photographs for publication. Several Napo Phase anthropomorphic urns have passed into the hands of private collectors, who have allowed us to include them in our illustrations. To Thomas P. Flannery, Alan C. Lapiner, Jay C. Leff and Howard S. Strouth, we take this opportunity to offer public thanks.<br/>Carbon-14 dates have been furnished by the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Pennsylvania. We are indebted to the Creole Foundation for a grant to assist in obtaining the first series of dates from the latter laboratory.<br/>In conclusion, it is a pleasure to record once again our indebtedness to members of the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Processing Lab staff, especially Willie Mae Pelham and Robert C. Jenkins, for their careful preparation of the sherd collections for study. George Robert Lewis, scientific illustrator in the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology, has produced his customarily excellent drawings from badly eroded pottery, poor illustrations in published sources or photographs, as well as the maps and diagrams. We apologize for delaying so many years to provide them with captions. The plates owe their clarity to the high quality enlargements furnished by the staff of the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History Photo Lab. The manuscript was efficiently typed by Anne M. Lewis, Smithsonian Office of Anthropology.<br/>For scholars interested in consulting the illustrated material, some clarification of the symbols and legends may be useful. All specimens not otherwise credited are in the United States National Museum, where a large type collection of sherds has been deposited. Specimens in other collections are so identified, and addition of the word "courtesy" indicates that the photographs were supplied by the individual or institution named. A key has been employed in figures showing rim profiles, permitting rapid recognition of association between form and presence or absence of red slip or decoration, explained in each caption. The relative frequency of rims, shown in black, white, or hachure, approximates the relative popularity of the form with each type of surface treatment.<br/>CE<br/>BJM<br/><I>Smithsonian Institution</I><br/><I>Washington, D.C.</I><br/>December 13, 1966