Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

Burials and Human Remains / 127
Table 12. Burials Recorded in Jamaican Middens.
( Allsworth- Jones and Wesler 2003:Figure 3). The two burials have been described
by Ana Luisa Santos. Adult burial 1, probably a male, was interred in
a flexed position, with an associated ceramic vessel at his feet. He was lying on
his left side, with the right hand gripping the left forearm. Burial 2 is that of a
child, with an estimated age at death of about seven. The inhumation was in a
flexed position, with all the bones from the lower limbs so much contracted as
to suggest that he or she may have been bound before burial. The child was lying
on its right side, with the left hand gripping the right elbow. In their general
posture, therefore, there is a similarity between the two burials, suggesting
that a definite ritual was being observed.
The existence of deliberate burials in caves and in open- air sites means
that the Pre- Columbian inhabitants considered both to be appropriate resting
places. It is not clear what determined the choice between the two, or what
criteria dictated that secondary burials (particularly of the head) were carried
out in some cases.
The Lee Collection
The number of identified bones in the Lee Collection is 399, representing a
minimum number of individuals (MNI) of 46, from 25 locations (16 mid-