The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino
by Lesley-Gail Atkinson
by Lesley-Gail Atkinson
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end view<br />
Type 1A: plain D handle, top below bowl rim<br />
Type 3A: top <strong>of</strong> handle below bowl rim<br />
Painted areas<br />
Type 4: horizontal loop<br />
Figure 11.5 Type III handles – similar to Types I and<br />
II but with flared base and tabular spur<br />
Figure 11.6 O<strong>the</strong>r handle variations<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r recognizable forms depicted in Redware handles are heads <strong>of</strong> crocodiles,<br />
snakes, birds (parrot, duck) and various fish. Often <strong>the</strong> artist accentuated<br />
<strong>the</strong> eyes, mouth, gills and fins by incised lines.<br />
<strong>The</strong> geometric class includes cylindrical to flattened oval knobs and miniatures<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bow or stern <strong>of</strong> canoes. <strong>The</strong>re are indentations to produce crescentic<br />
ridges and slightly raised V-shaped patterns, which merge over into <strong>the</strong><br />
amorphous tabs and lugs.<br />
Miscellaneous Features <strong>of</strong> Pottery<br />
Piercing at or just above <strong>the</strong> handle is fairly common, <strong>the</strong> holes being typically<br />
2 to 3 mm in diameter. Some vessels had feet, and one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se has an incised<br />
pattern on its sole. One vessel has a circular incision on <strong>the</strong> inside wall directly<br />
over <strong>the</strong> foot. In addition to its chief use for zoomorphic features, incision<br />
occasionally forms abstract designs such as concentric triangles or polygons.<br />
Unexplained single or doubles lines occur on some sherds.<br />
<strong>The</strong> author’s collection contains two examples <strong>of</strong> spouts, both bluntly conical,<br />
slightly curved and with inside diameters <strong>of</strong> 5 mm at <strong>the</strong> tips. <strong>The</strong> interior<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> spout <strong>of</strong> one is funnel-shaped with walls 1 cm thick. <strong>The</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
spout is solid except for <strong>the</strong> constant-diameter 5-mm hole.<br />
158 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS