Archaeology in the Atures Rapids of the Middle Orinoco, Venezuela

This paper briefly reports on the initial results of a new Leverhulme-sponsored four-year archaeological project (RPG 234- 2014) centred on the Átures Rapids area of the Middle Orinoco River, Amazonas State, Venezuela (Fig. 1). The Cotúa Island Reflexive Archaeology Project seeks to establish the longue durée historical processes that by early colonial times culminated in the region’s reputation for being a key crossroads – where diverse ethno-linguistic groups from far-flung regions converged to trade (Oliver et al. 2014). Harnessing new evi- dence, it aims to elucidate how interaction between such diverse indigenous groups unfolded and the role it played in forg- ing ethnogenesis. Through archaeological research, it seeks to gain new insights into its history and elucidate regional patterns of exchange through the study of technical andstylisticdimensionsofmaterialculture. It also aims to investigate the abundant pre-colonial rock art and its relationships to the landscape and aboriginal oral tradi- tions. Finally, it seeks to understand how Western and Non-western archaeological knowledge is produced by engaging with the current indigenous groups as partners in (re)constructing history.