Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

150 / Appendix A.
During Father Osborne’s excavations, the site was pegged out in 5-ft squares.
Six complete and two half such squares were excavated in the southwest portion
of the site, a total of about 175 square feet (Appendix 25). The site was
excavated in two levels, 0 to 10 inches and 10 to 20 inches in depth. The subsoil
was whitish gray marl above limestone bedrock. All material was sieved
through a 1/8-in screen.
About 5,000 potsherds were recovered. Six hundred twenty- seven rims and
decorated pieces were analyzed in detail, and the frequency of certain characteristics
was established for the two levels (Appendix 26). An increase in filleted
rims and incised decoration in the upper level was noted. In general the style
was defined as “White Marl with Montego Bay sub- style features.”
K. F. Johnson analyzed the fauna. In squares 1–8 she identified a total of
793 bones belonging to 21 species (Appendix 27, reproduced here at Table 24).
Only one land mammal was identified, the hutía (Geocapromys brownii). One
mandible was tentatively identified as an iguana (Cyclura collei) and one vertebra
as a snake (Alsophis ater), though C. B. Lewis queried the first of these identifications.
At least two sea turtles (Cheloniidae) were present. The remaining
17 species are fish, predominantly tuna (Thunnus sp.), grouper (Epinephelus
spp.), parrot fish (Sparisoma sp.), and squirrelfish (Holocentrus sp.). As Johnson
says, this indicates exploitation of deep- sea resources as well as banks and reefs.
The fact that very few burned bones were found indicated to her that boiling,
steaming, or drying were the favored cooking methods.
If the minimum number of individuals (MNI) present for the various species
are divided into habitat categories, as suggested by Silverberg et al. (1972;
cf. Table 23, Johnson 1976:16), the results are as follows: land 18 (11 percent),
beaches 2 (1 percent), inshore 13 (8 percent), banks and reefs 105 (65 percent),
offshore 24 (15 percent). The predominance of fish caught on banks and reefs
is striking.
The mollusks were analyzed by Lee. Two thousand, nine hundred fourteen
belonged to 11 marine species, and 3,248 to six terrestrial species, a grand total
of 6,162. An increase in the proportion of terrestrial species was noted in
the upper level (Appendix 28). The marine species are dominated by Codakia
orbicularis and Arcopagia fausta, while the terrestrial species are mainly Pleurodonts.
A single human burial was discovered at a depth of 20 in. “Although the
bones were rather poorly preserved, it was possible to observe that the body
had been interred carefully in a flexed position lying on its left side and with