The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino

Summary and Conclusion
Following development of the Chancery Hall area, Mr George Lechler and
his associates rescued some finds from the site. These included the remains
of seven human burials, as well as a number of artefacts. In 1992, a charcoal
sample from the deposits just north of Horatio Drive, near the boundary
between lots 340 and 339, was dated by Beta Analytic to 690 ± 50 BP, equivalent
to AD 1260 ± 50.
Six test pits in four of the lots were excavated by the Jamaica National
Heritage Trust in 1996 (Figure 3.4). The remains of another human burial
were discovered in lot 338, as were additional artefacts including a large portion
of a griddle. The great majority of the finds were pre-Columbian, but
there were also a few historic pieces at the top of the sequence. The depth of
deposits in the test pits varied between 40 and 110 cm.
In 1998, a team from the University of the West Indies and the University
of Leicester undertook a small excavation. A 1 m 2 quadrant was excavated to
a shallow depth in lot 340, and a section was drawn at the boundary between
lots 386 and 340. The material recovered is mainly of environmental interest,
showing how the Taínos exploited the resources in their immediate surroundings.
A 7.5-kg sample from layer 3 in the section was analysed in the laboratory
at Leicester, confirming that this was a midden largely composed of food
waste.
While a certain amount of information has been recovered from the site,
undoubtedly much more has been destroyed or is no longer available for study
as a result of the development that has taken place. It is hoped that in future,
when a proposed development will have an impact on an archaeological site,
a concerted effort will be made to recover data in advance of construction.
Acknowledgements
Thanks go to Dr Silvia Kouwenberg and Ms Susan Chung for their assistance with
the excavation at Chancery Hall in 1998.
T HE P RE-COLUMBIAN S ITE OF C HANCERY H ALL,ST A NDREW
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