Brown, well known as a traveler in the colony. He says, for instance,
that in coming down past Amailah fall (in the same district and
range as the Kaieteur), on the Cooriebrong River, he passed ‘a large
white sandstone rock ornamented with figures in red paint.’ When in
the Pacaraima mountains, on the Brazilian frontier, I heard of the
existence of similar paintings in that neighborhood, but was unable
to find them. Mr. Wallace, in his account of his ‘Travels on the
Amazons,’ mentions the occurrence of similar drawings in more than
one place near the Amazons; and from these and other accounts it
seems probable that they occur in various parts of South America.
If, as seems likely, these figures are painted with either of the
red pigments which the Indians use so largely to paint their own
bodies as well as their weapons and other implements, or, as is also
possible, with some sort of red earth, they must be modern, the work
of Indians of the present day; for these red pigments would not long
withstand the effects of the weather, especially where, as in the
case quoted from Mr. Brown, the drawings are on such an unenduring
substance as sandstone. Some further account of these paintings is,
however, much to be desired; for, though they are probably modern,
it would be very interesting to know whether the designs resemble
those depicted on the engraved rocks, or are of the kind with which
the Indian at the present time ornaments both his own skin and his
household utensils and paddles. It may be mentioned that in the
Christy collection there is a stone celt from British Guiana on which
are painted lines very closely resembling in character those which
the Indian commonly paints on his own body.
The engraved rocks, on the contrary, must be of some antiquity; that
is to say, they must certainly date from a time before the influence
of Europeans was much felt in Guiana. As has already been said,
the engravings are of two kinds and are probably the work of two
different people; nor is there even any reason to suppose that the
two kinds were produced at one and the same time.
These two kinds of engraving may, for the sake of convenience, be
distinguished as ‘deep,’ [a typical example of which is in Figure 2]
and ‘shallow’ [typical example Figure 3,] respectively, according as
the figures are deeply cut into the rock or are merely scratched on
the surface. The former * * vary from one-eighth to one-half of an
inch, or even more, in depth; the latter are of quite inconsiderable
depth. This difference probably corresponds with a difference in the
means by which they were produced. The deep engravings seem cut into
the rock with an edged tool, probably of stone; the shallow figures
were apparently formed by long continued friction with stones and
moist sand. The two kinds seem never to occur in the same place or
even near to each other; in fact, a distinct line may almost be
drawn between the districts in which the deep and shallow kinds
occur, respectively; the deep * * form occurs at several spots on the
Mazeruni, Essequibo, Ireng, Cotinga, Potaro, and Berbice Rivers. The
shallow form has as yet only been reported from the Corentyn River
and its tributaries, where, however, examples occur in considerable
abundance. But the two kinds differ not only in the depth of
incision, in the apparent mode of their production, and in the place
of their occurrence, but also--and this is the chief difference
between the two--in the figures represented.
* * * * *
They (the shallow engravings) seem always to occur on comparatively
large and more or less smooth surfaces of rock, and rarely, if
ever, as the deep figures, on detached blocks of rock, piled one
on the other. The shallow figures, too, are generally much larger,
always combinations of straight or curved lines in figures much more
elaborate than those which occur in the deep engravings; and these
shallow pictures always represent not animals, but greater or less
variations of the figure which has been described. Lastly, though I
am not certain that much significance can be attributed to this, all
the examples that I have seen, face more or less accurately eastward.
The deep engravings, on the other hand, consist not of a single
figure but of a greater or less number of rude drawings. * * These
depict the human form, monkeys, snakes, and other animals, and also
very simple combinations of two or three straight or curved lines
in a pattern, and occasionally more elaborate combinations. The
individual figures are small, averaging from twelve to eighteen
inches in height, but a considerable number are generally represented
in a group.
Some of the best examples of this latter kind are at Warrapoota
cataracts, about six days’ journey up the Essequibo.
* * * The commonest figures at Warrapoota are figures of men or
perhaps sometimes monkeys. These are very simple, and generally
consist of one straight line, representing the trunk, crossed by
two straight lines at right angles to the body line: one, about
two-thirds of the distance from the top, represents the two arms as
far as the elbows, where upward lines represent the lower part of the
arms; the other, which is at the lower end, represents the two legs
as far as the knees, from which point, downward lines represent the
lower part of the legs. A round dot, or a small circle, at the top of
the trunk-line, forms the head; and there are a few radiating lines
where the fingers, a few more where the toes, should be. Occasionally
the trunk-line is produced downwards as if to represent a long tail.
Perhaps the tailless figures represent men, the tailed monkeys. In a
few cases the trunk, instead of being indicated by one straight line,
is formed by two curved lines, representing the rounded outlines of
the body; and the body, thus formed, is bisected, by a row of dots,
almost invariably nine in number, which seem to represent vertebræ.
Most of the other figures at Warrapoota are very simple combinations
of two, three, or four straight lines similar to the so-called
‘Greek meander pattern,’ which is of such widespread occurrence.
Combinations of curved lines and simple spiral lines also frequently
occur. Many of these combinations closely resemble the figures which
the Indians of the present day paint on their faces and naked bodies.
The resemblance is, however, not so great but that it may be merely
due to the fact that the figures are just such simple combinations
of lines which would occur independently to the rock-engravers and to
the body-painters as to all other untaught designers.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Shallow carvings in Guiana.]
The same author (pp. 368, 369) gives the following account of the
superstitious reverence entertained for the petroglyphs by the living
Indians of Guiana:
Every time a sculptured rock or striking mountain or stone is seen,
Indians avert the ill-will of the spirits of such places by rubbing
red peppers (_Capsicum_) each in his or her own eyes. For instance,
on reaching the Timehri rock on the Corentyn River, I at once began
to sketch the figures sculptured thereon. Looking up the next moment
I saw the Indians--men, women and children--who accompanied me all
grouped round the rock-picture, busily engaged in this painful
operation of pepper-rubbing. The extreme pain of this operation when
performed thoroughly by the Indians I can faintly realize from my
own feelings when I have occasionally rubbed my eyes with fingers
which had recently handled red-peppers; and from the fact that,
though the older practitioners inflict this self-torture with the
utmost stoicism, I have again and again seen that otherwise rare
sight of Indians, children, and even young men, sobbing under the
infliction. Yet the ceremony was never omitted. Sometimes when by a
rare chance no member of the party had had the forethought to provide
peppers, lime-juice was used as a substitute; and once, when neither
peppers nor limes were at hand, a piece of blue indigo-dyed cloth was
carefully soaked, and the dye was then rubbed into the eyes. These,
I believe, are the only ceremonies observed by the Indians. One idea
underlies them all, and that is the attempt to avoid attracting the
attention of malignant spirits.
The following extract from a paper on the Indian picture writing
in British Guiana, by Mr. Charles B. Brown, in the Journal of the
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1873, Vol. II,
254-257, gives views and details somewhat different from the foregoing:
These writings or markings are visible at a greater or less distance
in proportion to the depth of the furrows. In some instances they
are distinctly visible upon the rocks on the banks of the river
at a distance of one hundred yards; in others they are so faint
that they can only be seen in certain lights by reflected rays
from their polished surfaces. They occur upon greenstone, granite,
quartz-porphyry, gneiss, and jasperous sandstone, both in a vertical
and horizontal position, at various elevations above the water.
Sometimes they can only be seen during the dry season, when the
rivers are low, as in several instances on the Berbice and Cassikytyn
rivers. In one instance, on the Corentyne river, the markings on the
rock are so much above the level of the river when at its greatest
height, that they could only have been made by erecting a staging
against the face of the rock, unless the river was at the time much
above its usual level. The widths of the furrows vary from half an
inch to one inch, while the depth never exceeds one-fourth of an
inch. Sometimes the markings are almost level with the surrounding
surfaces, owing to the waste or degradation by atmospheric
influences, which have acted with greater force upon the rough rock
than on the polished face of the grooved markings. The furrows
present the same weather-stained aspect as the rocks upon which they
are cut, and both the rocks and the furrows are in some instances
coated with a thin layer of the oxides of iron and manganese.
The Indians of Guiana know nothing about the picture writing by
tradition. They scout the idea of their having been made by the
hand of man, and ascribe them to the handiwork of the Makunaima,
their great spirit. Nevertheless, they do not regard them with any
superstitious feelings, looking upon them merely as curiosities,
which is the more extraordinary as there are numbers of large rocks
without any markings on some rivers, which they will not even look at
in passing, lest some calamity should overtake them. Their Peaimen or
sorcerers always squeeze tobacco juice in their eyes on approaching
these, but pay no regard to the sculptured rocks. In the Pacaraima
mountains, between the villages of Mora and Itabay, the path passes
through a circle of square stones placed on one end, one of which
has a carving upon it; some of these blocks have been thrown down
and broken by the Indians, clearly proving their utter disregard for
them. If then there were any traditions regarding these writings
handed down from father to son, I conclude that the Indians of the
present day--the most superstitious of beings--would undoubtedly
treat them with awe and respect. Again, if their forefathers were
as indolent as they now are, they never would have gone to the
trouble of making these pictures merely for the purpose of passing
away their time, which they could have more easily accomplished by
lying in their hammocks from morning to night in a semi-dreamy sort
of state, as their descendants do at present. As these figures were
evidently cut with great care and at much labor by a former race of
men, I conclude that they were made for some great purpose, probably
a religious one, as some of the figures give indications of Phallic
worship.
PETROGLYPHS IN BRAZIL.
The following is an abstract from a paper by J. Whitfield on Rock
Inscriptions in Brazil, in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute
of Great Britain and Ireland, 1874, Vol. III, p. 114:
The rock inscriptions were visited in August, 1865, during an
exploring expedition for gold mines in the province of Ceará.
Several similar inscriptions are said to exist in the interior of
the province of Ceará, as well as in the provinces of Pernambuco and
Piauhy, especially in the _Sertaõs_, that is, in the thinly-wooded
parts of the interior, but no mention is ever made of their having
been seen near the coast.
In the margin and bed only of the river are the rocks inscribed. On
the margin they extend in some instances to fifteen or twenty yards.
Except in the rainy season the stream is dry. The rock is a silicious
schist of excessively hard and flinty texture. The marks have the
appearance of having been made with a blunt heavy tool, such as might
be made with an almost worn-out mason’s hammer.
The situation is about midway between Serra Grande or Ibiapaba and
Serra Merioca, about seventy miles from the coast and forty west of
the town Sobral. There are not any indications of works of art or
other antiquarian remains, nor anything peculiar to the locality. The
country is gently undulating, and of the usual character that obtains
for hundreds of miles extending along the base of the Serra Ibiapaba.
The native population attribute all the ‘Letreiros’ (inscriptions),
as they do everything else of which they have no information, to the
Dutch as records of hidden wealth. The Dutch, however, only occupied
the country for a few years in the early part of the seventeenth
century. Along the coast numerous forts, the works of the Dutch,
still remain; but there are no authentic records of their ever
having established themselves in the interior of the country, and
less probability still of their amusing themselves with inscribing
puzzling hieroglyphics, which must have been a work of time, on the
rocks of the far interior, for the admiration of wandering Indians.
PICTOGRAPHS IN PERU.
Dr. J. J. Von Tschudi mentions in his Travels in Peru during the
years 1838-1842, [Wiley and Putnam’s Library, Vols. XCIII-XCIV, New
York, 1847,] Pt. II, p. 345-346, that the ancient Peruvians also used
a certain kind of “hieroglyphics” which they engraved in stone, and
preserved in their temples. Notices of these “hieroglyphics” are given
by some of the early writers. There appears to be a great similarity
between these Peruvian pictographs and those found in Mexico and Brazil.
The temptation to quote from Charles Wiener’s magnificent work Pérou
et Bolivie, Paris, 1880, and also from La Antigüedad del Hombre en el
Plata, by Florentine Ameghino, Paris (and Buenos Aires), 1880, must be
resisted.
OBJECTS REPRESENTED IN PICTOGRAPHS.
The objects depicted in pictographs of all kinds are too numerous and
varied for any immediate attempt at classification. Those upon the
petroglyphs may, however, be usefully grouped. Instructive particulars
regarding them, may be discovered, for instance the delineation of the
fauna in reference to its present or former habitat in the region where
the representation of it is found, is of special interest.
As an example of the number and kind of animals pictured, as well as
of their mode of representation, the following Figures, 4 to 21, are
presented, taken from the Moki inscriptions at Oakley Springs, Arizona,
by Mr. G. K. Gilbert. These were selected by him from, a large number
of etchings, for the purpose of obtaining the explanation, and they
were explained to him by Tubi, an Oraibi chief living at Oraibi, one of
the Moki villages.
Jones, in his Southern Indians, p. 377-379, gives a résumé of objects
depicted as follows:
Upon the Enchanted Mountain in Union County, cut in plutonic rock,
are the tracks of men, women, children, deer, bears, bisons, turkeys
and terrapins, and the outlines of a snake, of two deer, and of a
human hand. These sculptures--so far as they have been ascertained
and counted--number one hundred and thirty-six. The most extravagant
among them is that known as the footprint of the “Great Warrior.”
It measures eighteen inches in length, and has six toes. The other
human tracks and those of the animals are delineated with commendable
fidelity. * * *
Most of them present the appearance of the natural tread of the
animal in plastic clay. * * * These _intaglios_ closely resemble
those described by Mr. Ward [Jour. Anthrop. Inst. of N. Y., No.
1, 57 _et seq._], as existing upon the upheaved strata of coarse
carboniferous grit in Belmont County, Ohio, near the town of
Barnesville.
The appearance of objects showing the influence of European
civilization and christianization should always be carefully noted. An
instance where an object of that character is found among a multitude
of others not liable to such suspicion is in the heart surmounted by
a cross, in the upper line of Figure 1, page 30 _ante._ This suggests
missionary teaching.
[Illustration:
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
]
The following is the explanation of the figures:
Fig. 4. A beaver.
5. A bear.
6. A mountain sheep (_Ovis montana_).
7. Three wolf heads.
8. Three Jackass rabbits.
9. Cottontail rabbit.
10. Bear tracks.
11. An eagle.
12. Eagle tails.
13. A turkey tail.
14. Horned toads (_Phryosoma_ sp.?).
15. Lizards.
16. A butterfly.
17. Snakes.
18. A rattlesnake.
19. Deer track.
20. Three Bird tracks.
21. Bitterns (wading birds).
INSTRUMENTS USED IN PICTOGRAPHY.
These are often of anthropologic interest. A few examples are given as
follows, though other descriptions appear elsewhere in this paper.
INSTRUMENTS FOR CARVING.
This includes etching, pecking, and scratching.
The Hidatsa, when carving upon stone or rocks, as well as upon pieces
of wood, use a sharply pointed piece of hard stone, usually a fragment
of quartz.
The bow-drill was an instrument largely used by the Innuit of Alaska in
carving bone and ivory. The present method of cutting figures and other
characters, to record events and personal exploits, consists in the use
of a small blade, thick, though sharply pointed, resembling a graver.
INSTRUMENTS FOR DRAWING.
When in haste, or when the necessary materials are not at hand, the
Hidatsa sometimes prepare notices by drawing upon a piece of wood or
the shoulder blade of a buffalo with a piece of charcoal obtained
from the fire, or with a piece of red chalk, with which nearly every
warrior is at all times supplied.
INSTRUMENTS FOR PAINTING.
Painting upon robes or skins is accomplished by means of thin strips
of wood, or sometimes of bone. Tufts of antelope hair are also used,
by tying them to sticks to make a brush. This is evidently a modern
innovation. Pieces of wood, one end of each chewed so as to produce a
loose fibrous brush, are also used at times, as has been observed among
the Titon Dakota.
The Hidatsa, Arikara, and other Northwest Indians usually employ a
piece of buffalo rib, or a piece of hard wood, having somewhat of an
elliptical or lozenge-shaped form. This is dipped in thin glue and a
tracing is made, which is subsequently treated in a similar manner with
a solution, of glue, water, and color.
INSTRUMENTS FOR TATTOOING.
The Hidatsa say that formerly, when tattooing was practiced, sharp
pieces of bone were used for pricking the skin.
The tribes of Oregon, Washington, and northern California used sharp
pieces of bone, thorns, and the dorsal spines of fish, though at
present needles are employed, as they are more effective and less
painful, and are readily procured by purchase.
Needles are used by the Klamath Indians, according to Mr. Gatschet.
Rev. M. Eells reports (Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey II, p.
75) that for tattooing the Twana Indians use a needle and thread,
blackening the thread with charcoal and drawing it under the skin as
deeply as they can bear it.
Stephen Powers says (Contrib. to N. A. Ethnol. III., p. 130) that
tattooing among the Yuki is done with pitch-pine soot, and a
sharp-pointed bone. After the designs have been traced on the skin the
soot is rubbed in dry.
Paul Marcoy mentions in his Travels in South America, N. Y., 1875, Vol.
II, 353, that the Passés, Yuris, Barrés and Chumanas, of Brazil, use a
needle for tattooing.
The following quotation is from Te Ika a Maui, or New Zealand and its
Inhabitants, by Rev. Richard Taylor, London, 1870, pp. 320, 321:
The substance generally used as coloring matter is the resin of the
_kauri_ or _rimu_, which, when burnt, is pounded and converted into
a fine powder.
The _uhi_ or instrument used was a small chisel, made of the bone of
an albatross, very narrow and sharp, which was driven by means of
a little mallet, _he mahoe_, quite through the skin, and sometimes
completely through the cheek as well, in which case when the person
undergoing the operation took his pipe, the smoke found its way out
through the cuttings; the pain was excruciating, especially in the
more tender parts, and caused dreadful swellings, only a small piece
could be done at a time; the operator held in his hand a piece of
_muka_, flax, dipped in the pigment, which he drew over the incision
immediately it was made; the blood which flowed freely from the wound
was constantly wiped away with a bit of flax; the pattern was first
drawn either with charcoal or scratched in with a sharp-pointed
instrument. To tattoo a person fully was therefore a work of time,
and to attempt to do too much at once endangered life. I remember a
poor _porangi_, or insane person, who, during the war, was tattooed
most unmercifully by some young scoundrels; the poor man’s wounds
were so dreadfully inflamed, as to occasion his death; whilst any one
was being operated upon, all persons in the pa were tapu, until the
termination of the work, lest any evil should befall him; to have
fine tattooed faces, was the great ambition of young men, both to
render themselves attractive to the ladies, and conspicuous in war:
for even if killed by the enemy, whilst the heads of the untattooed
were treated with indignity and kicked on one side, those which were
conspicuous by their beautiful moko, were carefully cut off, stuck
on the _turuturu_, a pole with a cross on it, and then preserved;
all which was highly gratifying to the survivors, and the spirits of
their late possessors.
The person operated upon was stretched all his length on the ground,
and to encourage him manfully to endure the pain, songs were
continually sung to him.
COLORS AND METHODS OF APPLICATION.
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Since the establishment of traders’ stores most colors of civilized
manufacture are obtained by the Indians for painting and decoration.
Frequently, however, the primitive colors are prepared and used when
Indians are absent from localities where those may be obtained. The
ferruginous clays of various shade of brown, red, and yellow, occur so
widely distributed in nature that these are the most common and leading
tints. Black is generally prepared by grinding fragments of charcoal
into a very fine powder. Among some tribes, as has been found in some
of the “ancient” pottery from the Arizona ruins, clay had evidently
been mixed with charcoal to give better body. The black color of some
of the Innuit tribes is blood and charcoal intimately mixed, which is
afterwards applied to the incisions made in ivory, bone, and wood.
Among the Dakota, colors for dyeing porcupine quills are obtained
chiefly from plants, or have been until very recently. The vegetable
colors, being soluble, penetrate the substance of the quills more
evenly and beautifully than the mineral colors of eastern manufacture.
The black color of some of the Pueblo pottery is obtained by a special
burning with pulverized manure, into which the vessel is placed as it
is cooling after the first baking. The coloring matter--soot produced
by smoke--is absorbed into the pores of the vessel, and will not wear
off as readily as when colors are applied to the surface with sticks or
primitive brushes.
In decorating skins or robes the Arikara Indians boil the tail of the
beaver, thus obtaining a viscous fluid which is in reality thin glue.
The figures are first drawn in outline with a piece of beef-rib, or
some other flat bone, the edge only being used after having been dipped
into the liquor. The various pigments to be employed in the drawing are
then mixed with some of the same liquid, in separate vessels, when the
various colors are applied to the objects by means of a sharpened piece
of wood or bone. The colored mixture adheres firmly to the original
tracing in glue, and does not readily rub off.
When similar colors are to be applied to wood, the surface is
frequently picked or slightly incised to receive the color more
securely. For temporary purposes, as for mnemonic marks upon a shoulder
blade of a buffalo or upon a piece of wood to direct comrades upon the
course to be pursued to attain a certain object, a piece of red chalk,
or a lump of red ocher of natural production is resorted to. This is
often carried by the Indian for personal decoration.
A small pouch, discovered on the Yellowstone River in 1873, which had
been dropped by some fleeing hostile Sioux, contained several fragments
of black micaceous iron. The latter had almost the appearance and
consistence of graphite, so soft and black was the result upon rubbing
it. It had evidently been used for decorating the face as warpaint.