Concerning the Existence of the Pit House in South America

With considerable interest I have read Daifuku's “The Pit House in the Old World and in Native North America” ( American Antiquity , Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1-7, 1952). Although he did not refer to South America except in passing, citing only the finds of Bird in northern Peru, it is of interest to point out that there are numerous ethnographic references to the use of the pit house in the southern half of this continent, and that these references are confirmed by archaeological finds. Metraux (1929) in his study of the Huarpe, primitive inhabitants of the Cuyo region of Argentina, gave a summary of the definite references to the use of the pit house in South America and attached a distribution map. He listed, in addition to the Huarpe, the Kaupe, Tsirakua, Matsikui, Kitsua de Cojata, Obacoatiara, Guaranaguacu, Piraguayguaquig, and Wayana. The first three are found in Paraguay; the remaining four are in eastern Brazil. For some of the tribes mentioned the references in question are very clear; for others, such as the Tsirakua and Wayana, they are doubtful

Archaeology · Ethnology · Geography · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · History

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