Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology

148 / Godo
THE TURTLE: THE FEMALE
AND MOTHER OF HUMANITY
My ¤rst entry into this research brought me to the topic of the mythical turtle
materialized in the ceramics of El Morrillo (Godo 1985), a well-excavated,
late-period site in western Cuba (a.d. 1360) (Payarés 1980). The lack of incising
on the rims or shoulder panels of ceramic vessels was distinctive in this
collection, composed of thousands of ceramic fragments, including 3,885
sherds from nondisturbed areas (24 m 2 and an average depth of 0.45 m).
Among the modeled handles, only six examples re-created the traditional zoomorphic
images (frogs, bats, and turtles), and no sign of anthropomorphism
was observed. However, of a total of 54 handles collected in the site, 63 percent
were distinguished by their curved forms and their tendency to project
toward the center or the ends of the vessels. One specimen was key for the
reconstruction of what I have suggested to be a series of ¤gures representing
the turtle theme (Figure 8.1a). In the center portion of the handle appears a
head, out from which project some lateral appendages reinforced by incised
linear decorations that may represent the front extremities of the animal.
In other examples, the head of the turtle seems to have disappeared while
the handle maintains its projections and a general structure (Figures 8.1b–h).
Their numeric dominance over other types of handles corresponds to a strong
synthesis, resembling types such as the coil or cleat lug handles (Figure 8.2)
identi¤ed by Rouse (1942) and the Cuban archaeologists of the Grupo Guamá
( Junta Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología 1951; see also Dacal Moure,
Chapter 2, and Berman et al., Chapter 3). Clearly, the turtle element was
identi¤able in pieces with non¤gurative forms and held a special place in the
particular context of El Morrillo pottery. It is the most popular theme in
the ceramics of this coastal site, where agriculture was signi¤cantly supplemented
by the marine economy, particularly through a large consumption of
Chelonias or sea turtles. Although a thorough faunal analysis has not been
conducted, the excavation reports mention the presence of large quantities of
sea turtle remains, third only to the amount of sea shells and jutías (a large
native rodent). During the excavations, Payarés (1980) observed this pattern
throughout the archaeological deposits. Sea turtles appear to have contributed
a larger biomass to the diet than any other faunal species recovered from the
site. Therefore, the turtle did not represent a protected or taboo ¤gure but
perhaps a community emblem of group self-identi¤cation.
In the last few years, I have extended the results of El Morrillo to the study