Page 6 - HOH

Friday 23 June 2023 locAl
A10

Episode 6

The Caquetios of Cayciba- Rock Island Agro Ceramists

Dabauroid pottery
As mentioned in our last
episode, we call these Ce-
ramic Amerindians, after
the specific style of their
pottery and their anagogic
or mystical ceramic deco-
rations. Such pottery was
excavated the first by ar-
chaeologists near Dabaju-
ro, a city and municipal-
ity in Southwestern Falcón
State of Venezuelan main-
land. Which gave the Lati-
nized name to distinguish
it`s handsome and well
elaborated pottery as can
be seen exposed in our
Archaeological Museum
in Oranjestad, the pearl of
our capital city.

Another important cate- ings. The criteria are to be holes and other features at
gory is formed by the very precise which sites are Santa Cruz and Savaneta,
large vessels. These have Pre-ceramic and how to respectively 5000 postholes
been found in association distinguish these from the and other features. Tanki
with burials, but most prob- Agro-ceramic tribe’s sites. Flip site was excavated in
ably they were also used In spite of these problems 1995; excavations in the
intensively in every –day- 58 sites in total have been north part of this site re-
life to store large quantities classified as Ceramic Pe- sulted in the find of larger
of liquids, seeds and roots. riod sites. In the number oval structures and smaller
All pots and vessels are of sites that had an open round ones. Such quantity
formed by hand (no use of hearth burning during the of posthole concentrations
potter’s wheel) in a coiling Ceramic period (ca 1000- suggest long periods of
technique. The clay is tem- 1515 AD).While probably2 permanent inhabitation.
pered with crushed quartz stone exploitation sites
particles.The larger size ves- were perhaps also used These are the three large
sels demonstrate the mas- by the Pre-ceramic Period villages, and only 2 sites are
tery and Excellency of the people which should be classified in the medium
Dabajuro potters: it is diffi- included in this time frame, category: Tanki Lender and
cult to fire such a large ves- and 6 sites that have Ce- Parkietenbos-west. The ex-
sel in a simple oven: as soon ramic Period and Colonial tent and density of finds is
as temperature differences artifacts. The latter 6 are considerable but less than
develop within the oven, also considered as Colonial the three earlier discussed
such vessels will crack.
Amerindian Period sites. sites. They are interpreted
Predominant within the ar- as permanent settlements
The decorated pottery is chaeological record are for at least some decades
thinner and of a very fine three sites: Tanki Flip inland by a not very small popula-
quality. Two main decora- tion.
tion techniques have been or of the vessel. Colors as only used for different daily East Aruba, Santa Cruz in-
brown, reddish brown, red uses, as mentioned above, land Central Aruba and
used: painted designs and Parkietenbos-W is an ex-
applique modeling. The and black were used. but it also was used in burial Savaneta at coastal South-
practices, agro-religious as West Aruba. These sites are ception within the group
painted parts are mainly situated more or less on one of 5 large/relatively large
darker as compared to the The other decoration tech- well as shamanic ceremo-
nique is modeling, ranging nies. We conclude from straight line to each other terrains. This site only yield-
lighter-background or col-
from simple motifs as cor- this evidence that it had a within a distance of 6.8 km ed undecorated, rela-
rugated rims, extra appli- very important place in the between Tanki flip and San- tively coarse pottery up to
que rings around the rim of preparation of food and ta Cruz and 8 km respec- now. All four other terrains
the vessel, to complicated the ritual, symbolic, and tively between St. Cruz and evidenced appreciable
ones such as interpreting religious life of the Dabaju- Savaneta. Surface findings quantities of Dabajuro dec-
stylized animal heads, such roids. and excavation produc- orated pottery.
as frogs, bats, birds, turtles tion in the subsoil of these
etc. Also human heads, Caquetio ceramic sites sites suggest that all three If you have liked our stories
anthropomorphic effigy- The ceramic period’s sites were large, permanently we recommend you to fol-
vessels and complete styl- of the Island are distin- inhabited villages for con- low us next week for the
ized animals where pro- guished from other groups siderable periods of times. following episode or book
duced. It is evident that by the occurrence of pot- your personal Etnia Nativa
pottery was very important tery shreds in a vast quan- Large-scale excavations experience and take it
for the Amerindian of the tity and the structural between 1974and 1976 home with you.q
Ceramic Period. It was not architecture of their dwell- yielded hundreds of post-