In this thesis, the composite burial of unit 52 of the site of El Carril, Dominican Republic, has been analyzed for deviancy from the general mortuary behavior in the Late Ceramic Caribbean....Show moreIn this thesis, the composite burial of unit 52 of the site of El Carril, Dominican Republic, has been analyzed for deviancy from the general mortuary behavior in the Late Ceramic Caribbean. Firstly, the general pattern of mortuary behavior in the Caribbean during the Late Ceramic Age had to be established. The variables that were taken into the analysis were: the location of the grave(s), the position of the individual(s), the occurrence of grave goods, whether it was a primary or secondary burial and the general ritual behavior. This research has concluded that the location of burials was often underneath houses, in caves, underneath central plazas or in mounds. The main position the individuals were placed in was either on their side, back, or in a seated position with the legs tightly flexed towards the upper body. Less occurring positions included the extended supine position and prone position. Grave goods seemed to be present at many sites, but they were in general infrequent. The most common burials were primary burials, the secondary burials occurred at a lower frequency. Lastly, the other burial rituals included individuals being placed inside ceramic vessels, underneath big stones or with cremated remains of another person. The composite burial of unit 52 at El Carril contained burial F35-03 and F35-01. F35-03, a juvenile individual, was positioned in a fairly uncommon burial position in this area at that period, called the frog position, lying on its back with the legs pulled up towards the torso. Furthermore, the skull and other long bones of the juvenile, who had an estimated age of 5 to 6 years old, were missing. This practice is often connected to the veneration of ancestors. On top of this individual, the burial F35-01 was discovered. This adult, a probable female with an estimated age of 20, was lying half on its side, half on the front of the body. This meant that the skull and upper part of the body were in a prone position, a burial position that is very low occurring in the Caribbean in this period. Furthermore, the prone position is nowadays often associated with a deviant burial treatment, which is also evident in the notion that this adult did not receive a similar treatment as the juvenile and one other burial at El Carril (F85-01). Lastly, the skull of the adult exhibited a fronto-occipital modification. The composite burial of unit 52 can be concluded to be deviant from the general mortuary behavior in the Caribbean during the Late Ceramic Age. This is 57 because bones were extracted from the juvenile, which was usually reserved for more ‘special’ people and has not been documented that often for non-adults. This is in contrast to the burial treatment of the adult, who appears to have gotten no special treatment at all. Furthermore, the positions of the individuals are non- normative, or at least low occurring. Lastly, the absence of grave goods is in great contrast with other contemporary sites on the island.Show less
The many ceremonial and prestigious paraphernalia in both completed and semimanufactured states encountered at Tingi Holo have led researchers to conclude that the inhabitants were heavily involved...Show moreThe many ceremonial and prestigious paraphernalia in both completed and semimanufactured states encountered at Tingi Holo have led researchers to conclude that the inhabitants were heavily involved in crafting (Versteeg 2003). To research if this can also be observed in the part of the skeletal population of Tingi Holo that was excavated in 1963 by Geijskes, entheseal development, osteoarthritis and spondylosis have been studied in this thesis. A selection of studied skeletal elements has been made based on observations done by Becker (2016) on a female craftswomen from the Ch’iji Jawita Site in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Following Sofaer (2006), the theoretical framework employed in this research is that of ‘the body as material culture’. This theory bridges the Cartesian divide by considering the bones of the human body as a material with a specific characteristic, which is it’s plasticity. This plasticity allows the bones to react to both natural influences, such as age, sex and disease, as well as social influences such as food consumption and activity. It is particularly applicable to this research for it acknowledges the unique way in which humans both shape and are shaped by the creation of their own material culture. To conceptualize the range of crafting activities and the divide of labour between men and women and old and young people, ethnographic and historic sources have been employed. Among the studied communities are the Maroni River Caribs of Suriname, the Barama River Caribs of British Guiana, the Wayana of French Guiana, the Waiwai of northern Brazil and British Guyana and the Xingū of central Brazil. Through their habits regarding crafting, some general trends have been inferred. Although men and women alike craft with all available materials, there is a distinction in the type of objects both are allowed to make. This becomes particularly clear when looking at ceremonial and prestige artefacts, which almost are always done by men. Old age was not observed to increase the status of craftspersons within the studied societies. Combining the results of the ethnographic and osteological data allowed for a meaningful conclusion about the activities of the Tingi Holo population. In accordance with the ethnography, men showed indications of being more involvedShow less
This thesis presents and discusses the results of a survey of colonial cisterns on St. Eustatius. St. Eustatius was and is an island without any natural fresh springs or rivers. During the...Show moreThis thesis presents and discusses the results of a survey of colonial cisterns on St. Eustatius. St. Eustatius was and is an island without any natural fresh springs or rivers. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century the island became one of the most important trans-shipping centres for enslaved Africans and commodities of the entire world. At the end of the eighteenth century it harboured a population of over 8,000 people that had many different nationalities and cultures. To maintain this population there had to be a steady supply and storage of water. Therefore, this research is an effort to contribute to the topic of colonial water management on St. Eustatius. Water was incorporated in religious, political, social and economic practices. The way these practices were carried out or experienced differed for the Europeans and the Africans on the island. To ensure a supply of water for all these different peoples, cisterns were constructed on the island of St. Eustatius. After a thorough analysis of 94 cisterns, differences in shape and construction have led to the establishment of a new typology for these structures. As an experiment, the chemical composition of mortar is analyzed with the use of a principal component analysis. Ultimately, suggestions for the management of these cisterns are presented.Show less
In the municipality of Oegstgeest (NL), an early medieval settlement was excavated spanning an area of circa eight hectares. The excavation revealed both the core habitation areas and the periphery...Show moreIn the municipality of Oegstgeest (NL), an early medieval settlement was excavated spanning an area of circa eight hectares. The excavation revealed both the core habitation areas and the periphery of the settlement. Among the thousands of features and finds related to the daily activities of the inhabitants, 27 contexts were excavated that contained human remains, of which nine contained (partially) complete individuals, and 18 secondary deposited remains. The human remains and their associated contexts are the focus of this research. The human remains were subjected to various analyzes, which provided different views on the lives and deaths of the inhabitants of early medieval Oegstgeest. Based on the analysis of the geographical location of the remains, it was argued that the choice for burial location was influenced by the presence of landmarks with a liminal character, such as boundary ditches. The analysis of the burial features, and the position of the corpse therein, revealed a variety of body positions and sepulchers. The osteological analysis of the bones indicated that a minimum of thirteen individuals was represented in the assemblage. The primary inhumations consisted of both male and female individuals with a varying age-at-death. The demographic composition of the deviant burials and secondary deposits was highly homogenous, consisting almost exclusively of adult male individuals. Few pathological conditions were identified, but a relatively large number of bones (from secondary deposits) exhibited perimortem sharp force trauma and scavenging marks. From five individuals strontium and/or stable oxygen isotopes were analyzed to determine the area in which they were born. The results indicated that four individuals were not born in the coastal region of the Netherlands. It was possible to state that the five individuals were born in four different areas. Based on the isotope results, it was argued that early medieval migration flows were more diverse than previously thought. The final part of the thesis discussed cultural explanations for the phenomena that were observed in the assemblage of human remains. For the secondary deposits it was proposed that they were the product of an excarnation ritual. Possibly the wolf, raven and eagle - important animals in early medieval mythology- fulfilled a role in the excarnation process. Alternatively, the secondary deposits and deviant primary deposits might be the product of ritual offerings to specific Celtic deities. Sun or wheel symbols found in the settlement (such as in a deposit of human bones and on a silver bowl), were possibly also linked to a Celtic religious cult. The cremated remains of one individual, found in the fill of disused well, were interpreted as a foundation- or closure deposit. For the primary inhumations, which were exclusively found near the boundaries of habitation areas, it was proposed that they possibly served as territorial markers. Depositing deceased relatives at the periphery of the household estate might have strengthened the ancestral affiliation, and thereby the claim on the territory.Show less
Determining the sex of subadults is seen as important for osteology and social studies. Within osteology several methods exist to determine the sex of subadults, but all these methods are under...Show moreDetermining the sex of subadults is seen as important for osteology and social studies. Within osteology several methods exist to determine the sex of subadults, but all these methods are under discussion. Often, the researchers who created the methods had high accuracies, but when it was later on retested by other researchers, the accuracy rates dropped. Within this research twelve non-metric methods were tested on known-sex subadults from Middenbeemster (n = 43). The twelve non-metric methods of this research are the elevation of the auricular surface, the greater sciatic notch angle, the greater sciatic notch depth, the arch criterion, the iliac crest, the protrusion of the chin, the anterior dental arcade, the eversion of the gonion region, the complete mandible, the mentum, the mandibular angle and the orbital morphology. The accuracy rates for each method were calculated and in addition separate accuracy rates were obtained for the pelvis, the skull and the overall skeleton. All the obtained accuracy rates were low. In addition, the statistical analyses indicate that the methods cannot be used to determine the sex of subadults. These low accuracy rates might be explained through with several factors. A population difference between the Middenbeemster sample and the sample of the other researchers might explain the low accuracy rate. In addition, some researchers have proved that there is less sexual dimorphism in Dutch populations than in other populations. Disease and malnutrition can also cause low accuracy rates. And inter- and intraobserver error can also cause low accuracy rates. In addition, this research was limited by a small sample and a overrepresentation of females within the sample. A division in five age groups made clear that there might be several methods that are age-related and not sex-related. It seems that the twelve non-metric method cannot be used to determine the sex of subadults, but more research is needed to get a better understanding of these methods.Show less
Since 10 Octobre 2010 is Saba, as one of the BES-islands, under the legislation of the Netherlands. This legislation prescribes that an archaeological investigation is required when a certain...Show moreSince 10 Octobre 2010 is Saba, as one of the BES-islands, under the legislation of the Netherlands. This legislation prescribes that an archaeological investigation is required when a certain surface will be disturbed by for instance building activities. Therefore it is common in the Netherlands to built an archaeological predictive model in order to get an accurate impression of chance of presence of archaeology in the concerning region. Their guidelines are drafted in the KNA. An archaeological predictive model displays the expectancy of archaeological sites in a certain region gradually and it is based on an analysis of the human behaviour in a certain area. Many elements of the landscape influence this behaviour and they are called the location factors. The elements that allows to map are individually valued and aggregated to one predictive model. This thesis analyzed the possibilities for building a predictive model for Saba. It mainly focusses on pre-Columbian archaeology since there are better alternatives for mapping historical archaelogy. Saba is located in the Caribbean region and the landscape and archaeology of this island differ enormeously in comparison to the Netherlands. Therefore it is investigate if the Dutch guidelines for predictive modeling are sufficient for Saba. Maybe there exists better alternatives and is it required to adapt these guidelines. To determine what the location factors on Saba were the history and the landscape of the island and the Caribbean region is discussed. Additionally the artifact assemblage, the type of site and the location of the sites in the landscape were explained. At last the author conducted an expedition to the island in order to get an accurate impression of its landscape and its relation to the present archaeology. Afterwards all location factors were mapped, digitalized and value in archaeological expectancy. Next these location factors were combined on 12 different ways to a predictive model. 10 of these models were focused on the entire archaeological landscape of Saba and 2 models were focused on the archaeological expectancy of specified subsistence economy. To compare the quality of all these models, they were tested by the existing archaeological dataset on significance (Attwell and Fletcher 1985) and gain (Kvamme 1988). Due to these tests it turned out that a combination of the location factors slope, elevation and landingpoints leads to the most realistic predictive model for pre-Columbian Saba. Predictive modelling according to the Dutch guidelines are less suitable and therefore they need to be adapted to Saba’s circumstances.Show less
After finishing my BA-Thesis on the burials of Anse à la Gourde in 2008 and excavating burials in 2009 on St. Lucia I knew I wanted to do more with burials, mortuary practices and taphonomy....Show moreAfter finishing my BA-Thesis on the burials of Anse à la Gourde in 2008 and excavating burials in 2009 on St. Lucia I knew I wanted to do more with burials, mortuary practices and taphonomy. Instead of doing another casestudy of just one assemblage, the idea came to compare samples from three assemblages in the Caribbean. These three sites are Kelbey’s Ridge 2 on Saba, Anse à la Gourde on Guadeloupe and Anse Lavoutte (Cas-en-Bas) on St. Lucia. The goal was to see if the burial customs from these three islands were the same. From each assemblage, a sample from seven burials were taken, mostly random. To make the comparison as valid as possible, all burials were described according to a uniform approach. The cultural context and ancestry was also extensively examined in order to make sure that a comparison could be made and that the ancestry was the resembling or at least had the same common history in terms of origin. When the origin turned out to be alike, the 21 burials were analysed upon their single or multiple deposit, their primary or secondary state and if they were filled or empty during the time of decomposition. In the end it turns out that the all three samples showed correspondence on multiple levels and it is concluded that they share the same burial customs.Show less
