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PRE-COLUMBIAN JAMAICA
By P. ALLSWORTH-JONES THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS
Copyright © 2008 The University of Alabama Press
All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8173-5466-4
Chapter One
Introduction
This book on Pre-Columbian Jamaica represents the first substantial attempt to summarize the prehistoric evidence from the island in one single published account since J. E. Duerden's invaluable article on the subject in 1897. The book is designed to provide a general commentary, which can be read right through as a continuous narrative. It can stand on its own if so desired, but that would not be to make the best use of it, since it comes together with a CD-ROM. Here the reader will find exhaustive information on 271 sites in Jamaica and on the material evidence from 191 of them. This material is now stored at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, in Kingston. It was presented to the university by James Lee in the year 2000, and the study of this material provided the impetus both for this book and for the CD-ROM. It is a matter for regret that he did not live to see the final publication, but he knew that it was on the way.
James Lee was a professional geologist who came to Jamaica in 1951 and worked here almost continuously until his retirement in 1986, as an employee of the Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation. During this time he was able to pursue his interest inarchaeology and in particular the Pre- Columbian settlement of the island. His principal aim was to locate and accurately map all the known sites and to investigate any new ones that were brought to his attention. In 1965 he founded the Archaeological Club of Jamaica, which in 1970 became the Archaeological Society of Jamaica. He edited and almost single-handedly produced the newsletter "Archaeology Jamaica" from 1965 to 1986. This recorded his activities and those of other members of the Society, and the growth in the number of recorded sites was chronicled year by year.
Following his retirement, Lee hoped that he might be able to establish a museum at his residence in Runaway Bay, but with the passage of time, this hope was not realized, hence his decision to hand over his collection to the University of the West Indies at Mona. Thanks to an initiative of the General Manager of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, Parris Lyew-Ayee, funding was obtained to enable the study of the collection to be undertaken. This work is the result. It makes full use of the material and the information accumulated by Lee, but it is not confined to those sources. It endeavors to deal with the prehistory of Jamaica in all its aspects, and to bring the story right up to date. As such, it is hoped that both specialists and general readers will gain an understanding of the extent of our knowledge of this subject, and Jamaica will no longer appear to be a "black hole" in the prehistory of the Caribbean, as it is sometimes erroneously said to be.
A word on nomenclature. In accordance with the practice of the time, Lee always referred to the Pre-Columbian inhabitants of Jamaica as Arawaks, and this name has been retained to describe his collection (Allsworth-Jones and Rodriques 2005). Clearly, in these days the name Taíno is generally preferred, and there are good reasons for that. Nonetheless, as explained in Chapter 3, the choice between the two is by no means self-evident. Hence, if we refer to these people as Pre-Columbians we will be on safer ground. It is hoped that this book and the CD-ROM together will provide a better understanding of the original inhabitants of the island.
Arrangement of the Book
Following this Introduction, the book is arranged in nine chapters followed by a Conclusion. Chapter 2 deals with the history of archaeological investigation in Jamaica. Since Duerden's time, much work has been done on the island, but it is not surprising that the outside world knows little about it, because so few of the excavated sites have been properly recorded and published. What is known is summarized here. So far as possible, the narrative has been carried forward up to the present day. Chapter 3 outlines the general frameworks for Caribbean prehistory, without which Jamaican prehistory cannot be understood. The currently accepted terminology is explained and attention is drawn to the limitations of an exclusively culture- historical model. As mentioned above, this chapter also considers the Taíno/ Arawak question. Chapter 4 considers the environment, fauna, and flora that characterized Jamaica and the Caribbean during the period in question. These general background chapters are followed by others that deal more specifically with the material catalogued in the CD-ROM.
Chapter 5 explains the nature of the Lee Collection and the rationale underlying the methodology employed in its analysis and exposition. Linkages to the CD-ROM are described in detail. Chapter 6, mapping the sites, summarizes Lee's work in this regard and provides a quantified assessment of the results. Chapter 7 describes the main cultural variants that are present on the island and considers their chronology. In doing so, it draws not only upon Lee's data but also upon more recently excavated material in St. Mary parish, recovered in the course of excavations conducted jointly by UWI and Murray State University. Chapter 8 describes the petroglyphs and pictographs that exist in Jamaica, and suggests some parallels in terms of motifs recognized elsewhere in the Caribbean. Chapter 9 gives as full a description as possible of the sites in Jamaica that have been excavated, and of the faunal and environmental indications these reveal. Seven such sites are compared in terms of the five broad ecological groups recognized by Elizabeth Wing at White Marl and elsewhere. Chapter 10, the last before the Conclusion, deals with the burials and human remains found on the island, drawing, among other things, upon the information contained in A. L. Santos's report in the CD-ROM concerning those remains that form part of the Lee Collection.
A list of principal excavated sites gives full details concerning 32 such sites on the island, with three faunal tables. This is intended as reference material, as is the comprehensive list of cited works. In addition, the reference material includes a complete list of the sites recorded by Lee with their codes according to his system, and a list of the illustrative material that is included in the CD- ROM in the form of Appendixes (each of which is attached to a certain site or sites).
The Lee system of recording is based upon the parishes into which Jamaica is divided and which serve as the units of local government in the country. There are 14 such parishes, or 13 if Kingston and St. Andrew are combined into one. A map of the country with the parishes and Lee codes is shown at Figure 1.
As can be seen on the map, the codes selected for the parishes were as follows:
A: St. Ann, C: Clarendon, E: St. Elizabeth, H: Hanover, J: St. James, K: Kingston and St. Andrew, M: Manchester, O: St. Thomas, P: Portland, S: St. Catherine, T: Trelawny, W: Westmoreland, Y: St. Mary. According to this system, therefore, Round Hill (the first site recorded in Clarendon parish) becomes C1. But, in addition, Lee considered that caves should be listed separately from open-air sites, and therefore Milk River (the first such site in the parish) becomes CC1, the second C standing for cave. And so forth across the island. Further details concerning the way in which Lee mapped the sites are given in Chapter 6.
Navigating the CD-ROM
1. The opening page of the CD- ROM contains six "entry points" labeled: sites, quick queries, Lee family collection, picture gallery, bones and shells, and map.
2. Sites. This contains the basic information about every site on the system. The sites are listed by name alphabetically and the user is required to "select a site to view." When this is done, a window will appear with six different headings: geographical data, inventory, decorative techniques, motifs, vessels, water jars. As an example, the user could click on White Marl (S1). The window will open on (1) geographical data. Most displayed categories, in this case, contain information, but a few are blank (for example, petroglyph and pictograph) meaning that this site does not contain those features. Each site is marked on a map, of which there are 129 in total, some containing more than one site. The site positions on the maps are as noted by Lee. There is a "summary" that provides general information about each site, to which may be attached Appendixes with published plans and sections or other such information. There are 56 of these Appendixes in the CD- ROM, as listed here. The heading "Sites Report" brings up a list of all the sites within the parish that can be printed.
The user can then move on to (2) inventory. This provides quantitative data about the artifacts at the site. There is also a "commentary," to which images with certain of the artifacts are attached. Additional data are available with regard to the shells, human bones, and animal bones that are present, if the user clicks on these displayed categories. In the case of the human bones, the commentary relates to the parish as a whole, so in the case of White Marl (S1) we can see details both of this site and of Naggo Head (S12). The heading "Inventory Report" brings up a list of all the recorded inventories within the parish that can be printed.
Window (3), decorative techniques, contains a table with quantitative information in three columns labeled lugs, rims, and shoulders. Similarly, window (4), motifs, provides information in terms of six categories, and there may be appropriate illustrations attached.
Window (5) provides information about any complete vessels that may be present, and (6) does the same for water jars, again with appropriate illustrations attached in some cases. There are drawings or photographs of 35 complete vessels in the collection. The numbers of complete vessels recorded per site are as follows: Belle Air (AC4) 4, Round Hill (C1) 8, Braziletto (C2) 1, High Dome Cave (CC8) 1, Taylor's Hut #1 (CC15) 11, Fort Charles (E2) 3, Hartfield (J1) 2, Fairfield (J3) 1, Bogue (J4) 1, Spot Valley Cave (JC7) 1, and White Marl (S1) 2.
Complete vessels may be either drawn or photographed or both, and their coding reflects this. Thus the first vessel (v1) at Round Hill (C1) is recorded in three ways as follows: c1v1 is a first drawing, c1v1v2 is a second version (v) of the drawing, and c1v1p is a photograph (p) of the same vessel. Not all vessels are recorded as elaborately as this, but the pattern is the same throughout. Illustrations of the vessels can be called up in the usual way, for example, if White Marl (S1) is selected and the viewer wishes to see ALL the artifacts, 1-25 will be available, followed by the two complete vessels s1v1 and s1v2.
The general pattern that can be observed at White Marl (S1) or Round Hill (C1) is repeated at all other sites, but the amount of information available in any one case is varied. The objective is to provide the user with everything we know about any particular site, and about any artifacts from it that may be in the Lee Collection.
3. Quick Queries. This provides a "way in" for the user to find out about certain sites in terms of given attributes, as an alternative to trawling at random through the whole set. When the window is opened, it is divided into two sections: (1) geographical, and (2) general queries.
(1) Geographical queries. This provides information on the sites in the system in terms of elevation in meters (5 categories), areas in square meters (middens only, 4 categories), and distance from the sea in kilometers (5 categories). A search can be conducted in terms of these categories and their combinations. Thus, for example, if it is specified that the user is interested in sites that are below 50 meters in elevation, under 5,000 square meters in size, and less than 2.5 kilometers from the sea, 15 sites will appear listed according to their parish codes. A double click on any one of these sites will reveal the full details about it.
(2) General Queries. This provides 10 possible lists of the sites, arranged alphabetically, according to specified criteria. All the lists can be printed out, if so desired. They are as follows. 1 All sites. 2 All sites within a parish. 3 All sites within a drainage basin. 4 All excavated sites. 5 All sites with petroglyphs. 6 All sites with pictographs. 7 All (cave) sites with burials. 8 All sites with human remains (both caves and middens). 9 All caves. 10 All middens. As before, a double click on any one of these sites will reveal the full details about it.
4. Lee family collection. Photographs of 57 artifacts from 20 sites are displayed in this section. As detailed in Chapter 5, these images provide an excellent introduction to the kind of Pre- Columbian material that exists in the island and was collected by Lee.
5. Picture Gallery. This window is divided in two: 1 Artifacts, 2 Fish.
(1) Artifacts. This option allows the user to see larger (and generally clearer) versions of the artifact illustrations that accompany the individual site inventories. The window offers a choice of selection by parish, site, category, and type. For example, the user could select all parishes, thus all sites, the category "celt," and the type "conch," in which case seven images would be available (some drawings, some photographs) labeled by parish, site, and code. The use of this option to view the artifacts is strongly recommended. Altogether in this section there are 538 line drawings and 213 photographs.
(2) Fish. This facility provides a view of 20 fish paintings executed by the late Audrey Wiles. Each has its Latin and English name, and there is a general list as well.
6. Bones and shells. This window is divided into three parts: 1 human bones, 2 animal bones, 3 shells. (1) human bones. There are three options under this heading. First, the complete text of Santos's report on the human bones is available as a PDF file. Second, under "statistics" there is a list of sites with human bones, arranged alphabetically. When the user double clicks on any particular site, the report on that site (together with all the others in that parish) will appear, together with illustrations as appropriate. There are 62 photographs in this section arranged as 43 labeled figures, with lettered subdivisions. Third, there is an inventory of the human bones and teeth, in which all the available specimens are listed by parish. (2) animal bones. There are two options under this heading. First, the complete text of Lisabeth Carlson's report is available as a PDF file. Second, under "statistics" there is a list of sites with animal bones, arranged alphabetically. A double click will allow the user to see which animal bones are present at any site. (3) shells. The shells are classified into a number of categories. Lists by parish and site can be generated, but there is no commentary in this case.
7. Map. This is the map of Jamaica that forms part of J. E. Duerden's article published in 1897 on "Aboriginal Remains in Jamaica," the full text of which is also printed here.
Chapter Two
History of Investigation
First Observations
Following the English occupation of Jamaica, occasional references were made to the Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the island, during the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth centuries. Thus, Sir Hans Sloane in 1707 recorded that a certain Mr. Barnes "who lived on the Red Hills four miles from Guanaboa" in what is now St. Catherine parish had found a cave with human bones and potsherds attributed to the Indians (Duerden 1897:28). Then, in 1774 Edward Long described the discovery of an Indian burial, 11 years before, by the side of the old road from Ocho Rios to St. Ann's Bay in what is now Carinosa Gardens (AJ 1973, 3:2). Most remarkably, in 1799 Isaac Alves Rebello exhibited three carved wooden "images" from Jamaica to the Society of Antiquaries in London, which are now kept in the British Museum. They were said to have been found in 1792, "in a natural cave near the summit of a mountain, called Spots, in Carpenter's Mountain," by a surveyor (Journal of the Institute of Jamaica 1896). There is a bird-faced figure, a male figure now supposed to be Boinayel the Rain Giver, and a cohoba stand with a further male figure (Appendixes 44-46). Lee thought it possible that this site might well be what is now known as Image Cave in Manchester parish (MC3) (AJ 1966, 11:1). Finally, in 1860, Richard Hill drew attention to the existence of "an Indian village ... at the Marl Hill" where the highway descended into the plain of Caymanas. He pointed out that "in times past the Rio Cobre swept at the foot of this hill," until it was diverted by a storm in 1722. Apart from pottery and shells, he found also "portions of human skeletons" (Duerden 1897:14-15). This site was to become well known as White Marl (S1).
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