The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino

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they have not previously been recorded, and carry out rescue archaeology to retain what is possible. Preservation is done on sites that can be preserved in the hope that they will one day be effectively and systematically researched before becoming threatened by development once more. Preservation and research of Jamaica’s Taíno sites will undoubtedly provide insights into their culture and evolution as a people and society, and their interaction with the African and European cultures with which they came in contact. Only by researching the sites and making comparisons with other sites will archaeologists be able to draw academic conclusions on the life of the Taíno. Properly investigated, sites enable interpretations of the past that cannot be made otherwise (McManamon 2000, 5). Recommendations The Government of Jamaica, like the governments of many developing countries, is more concerned about managing unemployment, crime and other challenges of a growing population than about understanding the Taínos and their role in our history. Culture, at times, is perceived as expendable in the context of development. The government and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust should require that impact assessments be carried out for any land-based development work in Jamaica. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust will have to become more proactive with developers regarding the destruction of sites, which should carry stiffer penalties. Public-sector agencies dealing with development projects should be informed of any archaeological heritage in the area and invited into partnerships with the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. The trust should also consider reviewing its policies to ensure that it becomes more proactive in carrying out its mandate. Decision makers should also seek the assistance of countries that have successfully solved at least some of the conflicts between development and preservation. Collaborative efforts will be required, and concessions will have to be made by both sides. For instance, the Inverness site in Clarendon, along the Old Harbour Bypass, was at risk of being destroyed. The developers met with archaeologists from the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, the two parties agreed that since the road could not be moved, it would be elevated onto a gravel foundation; no digging would take place, and the site would be preserved. Developers and cultural resource managers will have to sit at the same table, hammer out differences and make serious decisions. This was the case for the Long Mountain Steering Committee, which consisted of representatives from the University of the West Indies, the National Arboretum Foundation, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust and the National Environmental and Planning Agency as well as the developers; T HE I MPACT OF L AND-BASED D EVELOPMENT ON TAÍNO A RCHAEOLOGY IN J AMAICA 85
86 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS among other collaborative efforts, the developers provided the Jamaica National Heritage Trust Archaeology Division with a weekly work plan. Some sites will be preserved, and others will not. Where is the line to be drawn? Should attempts be made to preserve all sites or a select few? If only a few sites are to be preserved, how will their relative importance be evaluated? Sometimes a lack of communication is the only thing obstructing research on a site ahead of development. Incentives should be offered to developers to ensure that development does not severely damage sites, as sometimes developers are unaware of the options they have. One approach might be to collaborate with developers to create green spaces in sensitive areas and thereby preserve Taîno sites that would otherwise be destroyed or damaged. The public cannot be excluded, as they constitute possibly the largest body of potential preservationists. Until individuals are properly educated about the Taínos, their culture (and its contribution to the Jamaican culture) and the importance of the Taíno legacy, the significance of the loss of Taíno sites will not be understood. Heritage parks should be set up depicting the life of the Taíno. Sites have already been lost along the Old Harbour Bypass and the north coast; however, educational exhibits could be set up to inform people that a Taíno site once existed there. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust should have a larger presence in schools, present more seminars, use the news media more effectively and take legal action against those who destroy archaeological and historic sites. Protection of our Taíno sites cannot depend only on preservationists; it must be a nationwide initiative backed by effective government policies. “The greatest benefit of archaeological resources is what we can learn about the past from them and the links they have as material remains to important past events, individuals or historical processes” (McManamon 2000, 5).
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The Earliest Inhabitants
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University of the West Indies Press
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Contents List of Illustrations / ix
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Illustrations A.1 Map of the sites
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13.2 Petroglyphs from Coventry and
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Preface I HAVE ALWAYS been fascinat
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Acknowledgements I WOULD FIRST like
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Introduction IN JAMAICA, THE indige
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encounter the term Arawaks used to
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90. Long Acre Point 91. Long Mounta
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ical publication in Jamaica. Geolog
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collections. Knowledge of the prove
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Section 1 Assessment and Excavation
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objective by using a frame of refer
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16 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS two
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18 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS fact
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20 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS the
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22 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS deco
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Howard (1965) recognized that Redwa
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people making Ostionan (Redware) po
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was the recovery of the Aboukir zem
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Appendix Table 1.1 Midden Sites Rep
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Table 1.2 Cave Sites Reported by Ro
Page 51 and 52: 2 The Taíno Settlement of the King
Page 53 and 54: Henderson Hill lies to the south, o
Page 55 and 56: ivalves. Single gastropod valves we
Page 57 and 58: 40 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS Taí
Page 59 and 60: Table 2.2 Neutron Activation Analys
Page 61 and 62: Plain may have played a role in the
Page 63 and 64: Table 2.3. Taíno Sites in the King
Page 65 and 66: contractors to drill and blast for
Page 67 and 68: chipped away. It is believed that t
Page 69 and 70: Figure 3.4 JNHT excavations at Chan
Page 71 and 72: Test Pit 6 Depth 40 cm. This is a s
Page 73 and 74: 19.375 19.275 1 CHANCERY HALL, JAMA
Page 75 and 76: Appendix A Laboratory Study of the
Page 77 and 78: Table 3.1 All Recovered Organic Mat
Page 79 and 80: of slim, more or less parallel shap
Page 81 and 82: Table 3.5 Fish Bone Anatomical Part
Page 83 and 84: 66 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS Surv
Page 85 and 86: Acknowledgements Thanks are due to
Page 87 and 88: SOUTH NEGRIL POINT Savannala-Mar Mo
Page 89 and 90: sudden event. Occupation 3 can be c
Page 91 and 92: dle, a ground stone artefact that m
Page 93 and 94: - infrastructural development throu
Page 95 and 96: emoval. Sometimes what is required
Page 97 and 98: Figure 5.1 Road cutting through the
Page 99 and 100: Later on the Spanish settled in the
Page 101: Figure 5.4 Long Mountain prior to d
Page 106 and 107: 6 Notes on the Natural History of J
Page 108 and 109: Soils Several different soil types
Page 110 and 111: Shoreline On the north coast, there
Page 112 and 113: well established, especially in dis
Page 114 and 115: 7 The Exploitation and Transformati
Page 116 and 117: Art Art can be religious, functiona
Page 118 and 119: of Long Mountain”, Andreas Oberli
Page 120 and 121: Figure 7.3 William Keegan explainin
Page 122 and 123: cedar (Cedrela odorata), santa mari
Page 124 and 125: According to Rouse, the density of
Page 126 and 127: 17), grows abundantly on the island
Page 128 and 129: Incidental Dispersal The plant comp
Page 130 and 131: 8 Early Arawak Subsistence Strategi
Page 132 and 133: and bagged by level. In April of 19
Page 134 and 135: Table 8.1 Significant Vertebrate an
Page 136 and 137: tory and habitat preferences. Follo
Page 138 and 139: Changing Subsistence Strategies The
Page 140 and 141: Table 8.2 Faunal Comparisons: Per c
Page 142 and 143: Appendix Table 8.3 Rodney’s House
Page 144 and 145: Table 8.3 Rodney’s House Faunal L
Page 146 and 147: Section 3 Analysis of Taíno Archae
Page 148 and 149: 9 Petrography and Source of Some Ar
Page 150 and 151: The results discussed here were obt
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Petaloid Axes of Arawak Origin from
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Blue Schist The story of Jamaican b
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Coleraine) but also from other majo
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from which several Jamaican artefac
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in a lack of suitable rocks, so tha
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A surprising conclusion of the pres
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Figure 10.1 Redware, White Marl and
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triangular ridges. It is thought th
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(also see Figure 10.6), loop handle
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11 Jamaican Redware J AMES W. LEE A
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only if planted at exactly the corr
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Handles Handles may be classified i
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Two more or less spheroidal pottery
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12 Taíno Ceramics from Post-Contac
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and distribution of native labour w
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Figure 12.2 Distribution of New Sev
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hatching (Figure 12.5c), and closel
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were fired at a low temperature, th
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Figure 12.11 New Seville ware: jug
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ters of the caciques. These politic
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Section 4 Taíno Art Forms ART IS A
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13 The Petroglyphs of Jamaica J AME
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previously described petroglyphs ex
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glyphs in that belt, as the geologi
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Another carving that is unique is t
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Appendix Table 13.2 Jamaican Petrog
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14 Zemís, Trees and Symbolic Lands
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According to Arrom and Rouse (1992)
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The Context of Sacredness Taíno wo
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Kept in niches or on tables within
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Another important correspondence be
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eliefs in the spiritual and life-gi
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References Aarons, G.A. 1983a. Arch
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Smithsonian Biological Survey of Do
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———. 1988. Ulysses’ Sail: A
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———. 1983b. Adornos, Jamaica
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Porro, A. 1994. Social organization
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Scudder, S. 1992. Early Arawak subs
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Wing, E.S., and A.B. Brown. 1979. P
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Rouse, I. 1982. Ceramic and religio
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M. John Roobol, is a consultant geo
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The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino

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