Crossing the Borders: New Methods and Techniques in the Study of Archaeological Materials from the Caribbean

Functional Analysis of Caribbean Tool Assemblages / 111
Figure 8.6. Toolkit for pottery production from Morel and Anse
à la Gourde, Guadeloupe. a: Codakia shell used to scrape clay; b:
abraded sherd used to scrape leather- hard clay; c: piece of coral
(Acropora cervicornis) with clay residue.
suggested to interpret this as a result of multiple usages, comparable to the modern
use of a machete. The presence of shark and manatee bones in the excavation
demonstrates that the former inhabitants were in need of sturdy tools to slaughter
these animals. It is unlikely that this task was carried out with the aid of a shell bivalve
or flint flake (Lammers-Keijsers 2007).
Morel
The site of Morel is situated on the northern shore of Grande- Terre, Guadeloupe
(Figure 8.1). Excavations at Morel by a team of Leiden University and the Directions
Régionales des Affaires Culturelles (DRAC), Guadeloupe, focused on the two
earliest occupation phases of the site. The oldest one is dated between 320 b.c. and
a.d. 300 (Huecan/Cedrosan Saladoid, Morel I) followed by a second phase dating
from a.d. 300 to a.d. 850 (Cedrosan Saladoid, Morel II) (Hofman et al. 1999). Because
the larger part of the site has disappeared in the sea, it has to be considered
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