Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

126 / Chapter 10.
case for example with Halberstadt, Dallas Castle, and Cambridge Hill. A few
sites listed by Lee as burial caves have also been excluded, on the grounds that
there is now no compelling evidence that this was their function. The mapped
sites listed here therefore constitute a minimum number. By parish, they are as
follows: Adstock (AC2), Silent Home (AC3), Belle Air (AC4), Portland Cave
(CC4), High Dome Cave (CC8), God’s Well #1 (CC9), Jackson Bay South
(CC14), Taylor’s Hut #1 (CC15), Hounslow–Boy Hole (EC2), Hounslow-
Money (EC3), Pedro Bluff (EC4), Parchment (EC5), Peru (EC6), Bull Savannah
#1 (EC7), Ballard’s Valley #1 (EC8), Ballard’s Valley #2 (EC9), Baalbec
(EC10), Bull Savannah #2 (EC12), Breadnut Wood #1 (EC13), Breadnut
Wood #2 (EC14), Dildo Point (EC17), Simeon Genus (EC18), Abingdon
(HC1), Spot Valley Cave (JC7), Halberstadt (KC1), Dallas Castle (KC2), Beverly
Hills (KC7), Little Bay (MC4), Cuckold Point Cave (MC5), Cambridge
Hill (OC1), White Marl #1 (SC5), Holland Hill (TC3), Windsor (TC4), Hyde
(TC6), Drummond (WC1), New Mountain Cave (WC3), Westcliffe (WC4),
Wire Lane (WC5), and Orange Hill (WC6).
Midden Sites
The early investigators concentrated their energies entirely on cave sites when
looking for Arawak burials (Table 12). This notwithstanding the fact that in
1774 Edward Long had already described such a burial in an open- air site, later
recorded by Lee as Ocho Rios (A25), by the side of the old road to St. Ann’s
Bay in what is now Carinosa Gardens. It was not until the excavations conducted
by Howard and his successors at White Marl in the years from 1958 to
1969 that the full extent of inhumations in open- air sites became apparent. In
all there were 15 burials, with 16 individuals represented, of whom three were
children. In most cases, the skeletons were accompanied by grave goods, usually
pottery vessels. The commonest recorded position was flexed, lying on the
left side. Full details are given in the excavation report for White Marl (S1).
Notwithstanding this, Lee did not record “burial” midden sites separately, as
he did in the case of caves. An examination of the literature (particularly “Archaeology
Jamaica”) reveals that up to now there are 15 such sites on the island,
with a minimum number of 42 buried individuals, as tabulated below.
As can be seen, in the majority of cases, no more than one burial was recorded.
George Lechler recovered the seven skeletons at Chancery Hall as part
of rescue operations at the site after 1990 (Lechler 2000). The two skeletons at
Green Castle were revealed during the joint excavation project conducted by
the University of the West Indies and Murray State University in 1999–2001