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 The archaeologist Jay Haviser found clues in historical documents and on the oldest maps of the island, that this could possibly be Ascension.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 This thesis uses the available knowledge that has already been documented in historical documents concerning the contact period in Curaçao.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
