Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

Principal Excavated Sites in Jamaica / 161
obtained. “There were no notable finds,” although it was expected that “interesting
pottery design elements” would be detected during the subsequent
analysis, an analysis that was never reported.
References: AJ 1965, 9:1; 1966, 6:1; 1967, 2:1; 1979, 2:4–5; Howard 1950:75;
Vanderwal 1968a:92–95; 1968d; Cohen 1969:311–312, 314.
Bowden (O9)
First discovered and described by J. S. Tyndale- Biscoe, on the steep slopes of
a hill south of Bowden Wharf. Mapped by Lee in 1966. Tyndale- Biscoe described
it as “an Arawak kitchen midden with an individuality all its own,” on
account of the style of its pottery decoration. The decoration was apparently
made with “a square- pointed stick, which was poked into the clay at an angle,”
and this decoration was confined to the shoulder of the pot, rather than the
rim. There were “two styles, one a single line of punctations, and the other a
zigzag.” He also noted a tendency to a “slight outward flare at the rim,” and
he found one complete miniature vessel (restricted simple in shape) with opposing
handles, measuring 2 inches in diameter ( Tyndale- Biscoe 1960a:241).
Tyndale- Biscoe considered that one could speak of a “Port Morant style” (on a
par with the Montego Bay style), and that this style “may have been transported
direct from Hispaniola.” Vanderwal also considered that the site had “ceramic
remains unlike those found in all the rest of Jamaica,” and for that reason he
carried out excavations here in 1968.
Vanderwal dug a relatively large number of units at the site, because the deposits
were quite shallow, seldom over 18 inches deep. There were 15 test pits
and four trenches of an unspecified size. There were 69 “collections.” No description
of the pottery was given. “The most interesting find was a series of 10
perforated sharks’ teeth, which may have been components of a necklace, or
perhaps of a composite weapon.”
References: AJ 1966, 6:1; 1967, 2:1; 1967, 8:1–2; Tyndale- Biscoe 1960a,
1960b, 1962; Vanderwal 1968d.
St. Catherine
White Marl (S1)
Duerden (1897) and Cundall (1939) both refer to this site as Caymanas. According
to them, it was first brought to notice by Richard Hill in 1860. He referred
to “an Indian village . . . at the Marl Hill” where the road descended into
the plain of Caymanas. He pointed out that “in past times the Rio Cobre swept