Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology

182 / Singleton
10.1. Map of the Cafetal del Padre
erting control over the living spaces of enslaved people. The use of such wall
enclosures is not discussed in the historiography of Cuban slavery or in other
slave societies of the Americas. The enclosure raises questions about the
character of Cuban slavery, particularly methods used in the management
and surveillance of enslaved workers (Singleton 2001b). The primary goal of
the larger study, however, focuses less upon why Cuban slaveholders adopted
this prison-like approach to slavery and more upon how enslaved people responded
to these conditions. Despite the overwhelming domination that
slaveholders wielded over slave workers, enslaved people struggled to control
a modicum of their destiny (Berlin 1998:2–4). Archaeology is particularly
equipped to unveil material aspects of slave agency by providing insights into
the everyday lives of slave men and women, including the ways they fashioned
their domestic spaces, produced food and ¤nished products for themselves
and for sale to others, and created religious and recreational practices that
could provide a mental and spiritual release from the oppression of enslavement.
This chapter brie®y summarizes the project objectives and ongoing
work at Cafetal del Padre.