dAf 60
PUAUX Olivier, PHILIPPE Michel
Archéologie et histoire du Sinnamary du XVIIe au XXe s. (Guyane)
The construction of the dam at Petit Saut by Electricité de France in the French Guyane gave place to an important archaeological rescue operation.
Carried out from 1990 to 1995, this was the largest ever programme for an overseas French department of which the history was scarcely known.
This volume represents the results of these researches in the Sinnamary river basin for the last four centuries of our millennium.
Based on archives, travellers tales, old map and archaeological work, this study brings new elements to the history of this part of South America : the formation of the colony during the 17th and 18th centuries, its settlement, its economy and material culture. With the development of gold production from the 19th century, the Guyane appears to be another California. The jail at Saut Tigre was created in 1933 for Indochinese prisoners who worked on development projects in the Inini territory up until 1944. This work contains an important dictionary of place-names which constitutes a documentary source without precedent.
A second volume will soon be consecrated to the Amerindian sites discovered during the same operation.
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction
The construction of a hydroelectric dam at Petit Saut on the river Sinnamary, the 5th river of French Guyane, was the occasion for the first ever programmed rescue excavation in this department, carried out between 1990 and 1995. The 310 km2 surface area of the future reservoir served as a study area for the development of historical as well as archaeological research.
Part 1 - Formation, composition and environment of a colony in the 17th and 18th centuries
1. A new territory, new landscapes
The first documents at our disposal which concern the Sinnamary region date from the second half of the 17th century. The Relation des missions des Jésuites by father La Mousse (1684-1699) appears as the first account of the Indians living in the upper reaches of the Sinnamary river. We must, however, wait until the 18th century to be able to prepare an appraisal of our knowledge of the amerindian population along the banks of the Sinnamary river and its' principal affluent, the Courcibo, before the arrival of the first european colonists. These were chiefly scientific’s explorers : botanists such as Fusée-Aublet and mineralogists such as Leblond or Chapel, accompanied by indians of the Sinnamary river, of whom the accounts are richly descriptive.
The archaeological study is founded on these accounts, on the results of remote sensing and, more particularly, on the cartography and toponomy (cf. annexe 2). The use of the old maps, notably those of Dessingy and of Préfontaine, were able to guide the field-walking along the river banks. This was due to their remarkable topographical accuracy concerning the amerindian villages and «carbets» (a kind of boat-shed and landing place) along the Sinnamary and the Courcibo. Several sites were the object of excavations with the obtention of 14C dates. Among these, site n° 20 (Poudoupoudouli) produced european material in association with early 19th century galibi material.
2. The establishment of a new colony
The installation of the Jesuits at the start of the 18th century allowed the gathering together of the indian populations around their missions. That of the river Sinnamary was one of the most flourishing, up until its' disparition c. 1759-60. From this moment onwards, we are able to follow the evolution of the new settlement of Sinnamary and the chaotic relations between the colonists and the indians with more ease. The continual exchange of correspondance between the home-country (the Minister of the Navy and of the Colonies, Choiseul) and the local administration (the Governer Redmond) allows us to seize the misunderstandings which existed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The new colony was under a trial period and was subjected as such to researches, inquests and reports on the organisation of the town, the relations with the Indians and the Blacks (slaves who had revolted against their Dutch masters) and on the ideal implantation for the settlers...
Life, however, carried on rather badly for this mixed and varied population (jailbirds, Canadian immigrants fleeing the English...) of wide ethnic origins : Créoles, Germans and French all rubbed shoulders with the increasingly distant Indians. They developed all economy based mainly on agriculture (cotton growing and turtle rearing) and crafts. The administration was very, not to say too present (police, colonial security, hospital). Little by little, the demographic force of the Créoles won over the low birth-rate of the white settlers. The arrival of a boat-load of politicians banished by the French Revolution (including some famous names) and non-juring priests at the end, of the 18th century provided the only contingent of any consequence (albeit ephemeral and derisory) for a colony which was still looking for its' lifes' ideals in the middle of the 19th century.
Part 2 - The lines of development during the 19th and 20th centuries
1. A new California
Gold was discovered in Guyane in 1854, but only in 1866 in the Sinnamary basin. The following gold-rush was to last for nearly seventy years. A cottage-industry at the beginning, it rapidly became a major industry ; four dredgers operated in the Sinnamary basin from the end of the 19th century. One of these is, for the most part, preserved (cf. annexe 3).
Up until the Second World War, the «placers» or gold deposits were the domaine of several mining companies. The most important of these, «La Société Saint-Elie» was to become the SNEAV. Gold was also an affair for independant workers, more or less organised, who worked at the behest of these companies. The SNEAV, during the 1930's, employed nearly one thousand people of differing nationalities (Chinese, English, Brazilians...). Globally, however, the gold industry of the Guyane never reached the proportions that had been hoped for.
The field-walking and excavations in the gold-panning villages yielded above all artefacts associated with extraction: spare parts for the dredgers in particular and, more rarely, everyday objects (mainly bottles...). In addition, the layouts of these villages are known from the . accounts of Savaria (1933). The site at the deposit of Adieu Vat, worked from 1866 to the Second War, produced many remains of gold extraction: rail-tracks, wagons, boilers, crushers, etc.
2. The jail for Indochinese prisoners at Saut Tigre
The camp of Saut Tigre is one of three special penitentiary establishments (EPS, decree of 22 january, 1931) of the Guyane. Set up on the edge of the Sinnamary, It «welcomed» indochinese inmates, political prisoners for the most part. At the price of many casualties and guarded by military personnel, the inmates (some 200 in number in 1933 and 130 in 1944) built bridges, roads, camps and agricultural exploitations. Ali of these regional development projects for the Inini territory corresponded to the vocation of these EPS.
The camp, on the left-hand bank of the river, is organised along a path which runs parallel with the waterway. Two perpendicular tracks join onto this path which carries on to rejoin one of the tracks by a large bend. According to the old plans and the archaeological work, the camp was composed of at least twelve buildings of stone or perishable materials : a prison, latrines, habitations. Two kilns or ovens belonged to the complex, as well as two bridges for crossing creeks. The cemetery (18 graves preserved) was situated on the opposite bank.
Conclusion
This vast research program, archaeological, historical and toponymic, of a river basin represents a scientific «first» for the Guyane. It shows the many political, economic and social problems (and, sometimes, the inconsistencies) of successive waves of colonisation. Also explored are the relations with the indigenous populations and the incessant quest for vital resources (gold, the forests, the soil, even other people...) and, of course, the permanent desire to tame the river Sinnamary.
Annexes
1. Balata wood
M. PHILIPPE
The exploitation of balata wood, used for building, carpentry and sculpture, witnesses a rather undynamic activity which developed from the end of the 19th century in the Sinnamary region.
2. Toponymy of the Sinnamary basin
O. PUAUX
A geographical distribution of place-names : sectors covered, repartition by sector, index, dictionary (situation, coordinates, sources, toponymic correspondences, associated sites, commentaries).
3. The dredger Courcibo
R. PICAVET
The dredger Courcibo is partially buried under sand-banks and in a poor state of conservation ; 58% conserved representing a mass of 205 metric tonnes. Reconstitution of the processes of extraction : the gold-bearing sediments are dredged up by buckets on a chain, fluidified and directed onto primary and secondary tables equipped with sieves which trap the nuggets or gold-dust.
4. List of gold concessions in the Sinnamary basin between 1900 and 1944
O. PUAUX
A repartition by type of licence with a list of the gold concessions between 1900 and 1914.
