This thesis examines the most appropriate sustainable management strategy for petroglyphs created by the indigenous people of Guadeloupe, with a focus on the petroglyphs at Parc Archéologique des...Show moreThis thesis examines the most appropriate sustainable management strategy for petroglyphs created by the indigenous people of Guadeloupe, with a focus on the petroglyphs at Parc Archéologique des Roches Gravées, Anse des Galets and Capesterre Petit-Pérou. Through visual inspection, literature review and analysis of case studies of other petroglyph sites, the natural and human threats to which petroglyph sites are exposed were identified. The main natural threats to the petroglyphs at the sites are natural, biological and chemical weathering and erosion caused by water and wind. This has caused significant damage to several petroglyphs. Petroglyphs also become invisible due to the growth of mosses and algae. In addition, human activities such as economic development, tourist impact and vandalism and theft pose significant risks. To implement sustainable management, recommendations have been made that involve a combination of advanced diagnostic techniques, digital documentation, systematic monitoring, environmental management, and community and international cooperation. These recommendations provide an effective management strategy that both preserves the cultural integrity of petroglyphs and ensures their accessibility for future generations. Due to the limitations of the visual aspect of this study, future research is recommended that recommends applying advanced diagnostic methods and long-term monitoring, as well as developing specific protection strategies such as coatings and cleaning methods adapted to the specific conditions of the petroglyphs in Guadeloupe.Show less
This thesis contextualizes the archaeological site of San Hironimo, a former contact site on Curaçao by comparing the settlement layout and the material culture to other contact sites in the...Show moreThis thesis contextualizes the archaeological site of San Hironimo, a former contact site on Curaçao by comparing the settlement layout and the material culture to other contact sites in the broader Caribbean. On Curaçao, the contact period begins with the arrival of the Spanish in 1499 on the island. The island was inhabited by the Indigenous population, the Caquetío. They primarily lived in villages throughout the island. The arrival of the Spaniards would have disastrous consequences for the native inhabitants. The majority of the Indigenous population was enslaved and deported against their will to Santo Domingo to work there in the gold mines. Only a fraction of the population remained. They had no free will, and their villages, including Ascension, were supervised by the Spanish. The Spanish were not the only Europeans who wanted to colonize Curaçao. In the 17th century, the Dutch defeated the Spanish and took over Curaçao. During the expulsion of the Spanish, the Dutch burned down Ascension. For a long time, the exact location of Ascension was unknown because the oldest maps that portrayed the village were inaccurate. Throughout the years, people began to search for the contact villages. In the 1980s and 1990s, objects of Indigenous and colonial material were collected on an archaeological site in the western part of Curaçao. The archaeologist Jay Haviser found clues in historical documents and on the oldest maps of the island, that this could possibly be Ascension. To confirm his beliefs, he conducted prospective research in the area in 1987. After his research, no information about the settlement layout, nor a feature analysis or material analysis was published. Additionally, his research was conducted in 1987 and since then new archaeological research methods have been introduced. To obtain more information about the contact village Ascension and the contact period in general in Curaçao, this thesis was written. This thesis uses the available knowledge that has already been documented in historical documents concerning the contact period in Curaçao. Especially, the published information about the contact period and the contact sites on Curaçao. Furthermore, new information will be revealed about the settlement layout and the material assembly of the San Hironimo site. Namely, for this thesis a feature analysis and a material analysis have been conducted with the assistance of archaeological (digital) methods that have been introduced after the time of Haviser’s excavation. The features encountered during the excavation were of Indigenous origin and were primarily found in the northern area of the research area. Features consisted of postholes, graves of an adult and child, and a pit. The artefacts collected at the site were mostly of Indigenous origin. However, European colonial material was present as well. The San Hironimo site is compared to contemporary contact villages of El Cabo in the Dominican Republic and Argyle on St. Vincent. The material culture collected at those sites show similarities with the San Hironimo collection. Especially, in the retrieved colonial material. Following previous excavations in the Lesser Antilles and Greater Antilles, the San Hironimo site fits perfectly in the picture of a contact site in the beginning of colonization in the Caribbean.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
The introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples...Show moreThe introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples and the fluorescence of Huecoid cultures in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. However, the precise regional origins of this animal are currently unknown. Numerous studies have indicated the feasibility of using dogs as an isotopic surrogate for palaeodietary reconstruction in humans, which is telling of the high level of entanglement of humans and dogs expressed in the sharing of foodways. Shared dietary relationships with humans, ritual interment and symbolic depictions of dogs raise questions about the nuanced placement of this animal within the indigenous cultural taxonomies of the insular Caribbean. Dog remains are found both ritually interred and in domestic contexts throughout the region, suggesting that dogs were both highly valued as companions, and also possibly seen as a viable source of food. In order to understand this dichotomous treatment Viveiros de Castro’s “Amerindian perspectivism” and Descola’s notions of “animism” provided theoretical frameworks in which to analysis how dogs featured within the cosmological and cultural taxonomy of pre-colonial peoples in the insular Caribbean. For this study, data generated from archaeozoological and multi-isotopic analyses of dogs from the pre-colonial sites of El Flaco and El Carril in the Dominican Republic was compared to findings from three select sites in the Lesser Antilles: Cathédrale de Basse-Terre and Morel in Guadeloupe, and Hope Estate in St Martin. The aim of this research was to: a) establish the effectiveness of the isotopic surrogacy approach in the Caribbean; b) examine any regional differences reflected in the diets of dogs; c) determine if there are any observable distinctions in the morphology and diets of buried dogs and those uncovered from non-burial contexts; d) and to interpret why this dichotomous treatment was occurring using a perspectival theoretical framework. The results indicate that there may have been at least two morphologically distinct types of dogs in Hispaniola in support of what is mentioned in the ethnohistorical sources. These types likely underwent differential treatment by humans, with one particular type more inclined to be buried suggesting a higher value placed on this breed as a valued companion and consubstantial nonhuman person. The burial of one individual dog alongside the deceased at El Flaco may be a funerary offering, representing a psychopomp in the likeness of the ‘Taíno’ guardian of the dead cemí, Opiyelguobirán.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
Bodily ornaments are abundant in the circum-Caribbean region. Made of a variety of raw materials, most notably shell, stone and minerals, they have been recovered from the archipelago and...Show moreBodily ornaments are abundant in the circum-Caribbean region. Made of a variety of raw materials, most notably shell, stone and minerals, they have been recovered from the archipelago and surrounding mainlands. Most studies have focused on iconographic analysis of the motifs depicted on pendants and on the sourcing of exotic raw materials from which they were made. Technologies of production have also received attention, with emphasis on workshop contexts from the Early Ceramic Age (400 BC – AD 600/800) which present abundant debitage. For the later period (until AD 1492), considerably less is known. This research proposes a theoretical framework focused on the cultural biographies of ornaments. The main objective is to approach how pre-Colonial indigenous communities have dealt with ornaments, including the collection of raw material, production sequence, use, reuse and deposition. A chaîne opératoire approach is also put forward, in order to assess technological choices, gestures, techniques, toolkits and skill levels. Two case studies from the Late Ceramic Age are discussed: the Valencia Lake Basin in north-central Venezuela (AD 800 – 1200) and the northwest of the Dominican Republic, especially the site of El Flaco (AD 1200 – 1400). Microwear analysis was conducted on 161 beads and pendants using optical light microscopy, with magnifications of up to 200x. Experimental replications of specific techniques with local tools and contact materials were also made to serve as analogues to the microscopic evidence. An overview of the biographies of ornaments among lowland South American indigenous societies was made in order to shed light into the patterns observed in the archaeological material. Analysis has shown that in the Valencia Lake Basin the production of ornaments had an important role, involving high skill and the use of a specialized toolkit for shell working. The ornaments display different degrees of wear and indicate different systems of attachment with strings, regardless of type and depositional contexts. In El Flaco, bead making was only limitedly present and restricted to specific raw materials. Most beads, made of calcite and igneous rocks, probably entered the site through exchange networks. In general, the beads are intact and present limited use-wear, with different intensities and distribution regardless of the type. This combined approach (microscopic, experimental and ethnographical) permitted a new insight into the role of ornaments in these contexts and on how their biographies were connected to social relations at local and regional levels.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
Threepointers are amongst the most enigmatic artefacts of the pre-Columbian insular Caribbean (ca. 200 BC – AD 1492). According to the ethnohistoric chronicles they possessed a largely ritual...Show moreThreepointers are amongst the most enigmatic artefacts of the pre-Columbian insular Caribbean (ca. 200 BC – AD 1492). According to the ethnohistoric chronicles they possessed a largely ritual function and were designated as zemies, Amerindian spirit-objects. Nevertheless, what threepointers actually signified and how they were used is not known, nor have previous studies been able to verify the existing hypotheses. This pilot study explores a biographical way of visualising the threepointer artefact group, addressing the question of how they operated in Amerindian society. Microscopic trace analysis has been carried out on a sample of 59 threepointers, describing the microwear patterns that developed due to manufacture and use. Supplemented with data on the material proveniences and archaeological contexts, the research presents a broad range of evidence. These data are inserted in a biographical framework aimed at reconstruction of the cultural expectations behind the biographical trajectories of threepointers. As threepointers moved through five distinct phases in their biographies, being cause, conception, birth, life, and death, they were continuously recontextualised in the eyes of society. The thesis investigates how this process reflects on the cultural and societal values of the Amerindians. A reinterpretation of the ethnohistoric chronicles using ethnographic observations circumscribes this biographical framework in the context of Amerindian ontologies. Intersubjectivity between people and threepointers was the mechanism that allowed threepointers to interact with human sociality as autonomous actors. Through this mechanism, threepointers could be drawn to the human habitus, acculturated, and made to act on their own subjectivity. This study finds that threepointers were enormously variable in ‘conception’ and ‘birth’, knew active uses during ‘life’, but had no common significance in ‘death’. It argues that their unique existence is the direct result of their potential for intersubjectivity. Threepointers effectively functioned as devices capable of influencing the natural flow of the world.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
One of the most defining moments in history is Europe’s discovery of the ‘New World’ in 1492. It is generally known how Columbus succeeded in crossing the Atlantic Ocean, while trying to reach Asia...Show moreOne of the most defining moments in history is Europe’s discovery of the ‘New World’ in 1492. It is generally known how Columbus succeeded in crossing the Atlantic Ocean, while trying to reach Asia via a westward route. It meant a sudden and unexpected encounter between two radically different cultures. According to popular belief, the Spaniards offered beads and mirrors to ‘ignorant’ Indians and took home all the gold they could find. The Taíno were passive bystanders in the process of Spanish imperialism and colonialism. This thesis aims to eliminate these misconceptions through a critical reassessment of the role of European material culture in intercultural contacts in Hispaniola during the first decades of the colonial period. The discussion centres on the Taíno attitude towards these new objects, while emphasising their active participation and creative responses to the impacts of Spanish domination. An understanding of the dynamics, interactions and exchanges of the colonial encounter cannot be achieved without knowing the cultural-historical backgrounds of both parties. Their descriptions constitute Part I of the thesis. In Part II it is investigated which objects the Taíno received from the Spaniards and what they gave in return. The main questions to be answered are why the Taíno accepted the seeming trinkets of the Europeans and how and to what extent these were integrated into native society. Archaeology offers an indispensable dataset that, however, hitherto has not reached its full potential, not least because of the many difficulties involved in the archaeology of postcontact Taíno settlements. This thesis provides a current state of affairs by listing a representative number of site descriptions that have not been published in a similar way before.Show less
