The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino

Henderson Hill lies to the south, opposite the present Port Royal. Geologically,
Port Henderson Hill, the Red Hills, Dallas Mountain and Long
Mountain are all formed of Tertiary limestone, whereas Jacks Hill and the
mountains rising to the northeast are of Cretaceous-Tertiary granodiorites,
andesites and volcaniclastic and clastic sediments (Matley 1951; Green 1977;
Gupta and Ahmad 2000).
The Liguanea Plain represents an alluvial fan that was produced by sediments
carried by the Hope River before it was diverted into its present channel
(Wood 1976). It is possible that Sandy Gully marks its former course. It is
not known exactly when the drainage took on its present form, but presumably
it was essentially as it is now during the time of the Taíno occupation.
According to Claypole (1973), the Liguanea Plain was largely unsettled and
uncultivated immediately prior to the English occupation in 1655: “No
springs or rivers flowed in or across the centre portion which was composed
mainly of a dry savanna area”. One result of the Hope River capture was the
formation of the Palisadoes tombolo, made up of increased sediment entering
the sea southeast of Long Mountain and transported west by longshore
drift. According to Hendry (1978), Port Royal has at times been joined to
the rest of the Palisadoes and at times been separated from them.
Taíno Sites in the Kingston Area
The sites are arranged in an arc around Kingston, and are listed in Table 2.3
in their approximate order from west to east (Figure 2.1). The code names
(where applicable) are those assigned to them by Dr J.W. Lee. If Molynes
Mountain and Long Mountain are both considered as two sites, then there
are eighteen major open-air locations characterized as shell middens, two burial
caves, one stray find of a petaloid celt, one known raw-material source and
one site where a canoe considered to be of Taíno origin was found. Some of
the open-air sites were already known by the end of the nineteenth century
and were commented on by Duerden (1897). Now they either are difficult to
access because they are in socially volatile areas (Wareika and Rennock
Lodge) or have been partially or totally built over (Norbrook and Hope
Tavern). Of the sites discovered later, Harbour View is also largely inaccessible,
Naggo Head has been totally destroyed by quarrying, and the few finds
from Stony Hill were found only after the house on the site “Fort George” had
been demolished. Other sites (Caymanas Bay, Molynes Mountain, Jacks Hill,
Ivor, Long Mountain) are apparently still largely intact but have not been systematically
investigated and are known only thanks to the work of interested
amateurs. The major excavated open-air sites are Rodney’s House, Chancery
Hall, Bellevue and Tower Hill, and these have produced both artefactual and
36 T HE E ARLIEST I NHABITANTS