Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

Principal Excavated Sites in Jamaica / 175
and 32 of limestone. The stones used came from the nearby river. On a visit in
1977, Lee found an artifact of a different type: a white quartz pendant or bead
(4.0 x 1.7 cm in size) “tapered symmetrically to both ends like a slender barrel,
but not pierced” (AJ 1977, 2:Figure 1.6).
In 1967, during a three- week period, Vanderwal excavated four 5 x 6 ft test
pits and one trench 30 x 5 ft in size. Site depth was reported to be about 3 ft. In
his unpublished report (1968d) he stated that “the number of decorated potsherds
has not yet been determined.” “Enormous quantities” of net sinkers were
recovered, as well as shells, and animal and fish bones.
Two infant burials were discovered. (1) was placed in a ceramic “coffin” consisting
of a smaller bowl inverted over a larger one. According to Vanderwal,
no soil was in contact with the bones; hence, the degree of preservation was the
best he had encountered in Jamaica. (2) had a small three- sided bowl placed
with it, which Vanderwal considered to be unique in Jamaica, “although it is
fairly common in Haiti.”
E. S. Wing analyzed the vertebrate fauna (Appendix 10, reproduced here at
Table 23). There were 29 species represented with an MNI (minimum number
of individuals) of 600. Wing calculated that only 21 percent (126) of the fauna
was terrestrial (almost all hutía) the remaining 79 percent (474) consisting of
marine species. Among them 3 percent (15) are sea turtle (Cheloniidae), which
evidently were captured on the beach. The remainder is divided into three categories:
inshore 16 percent (97), banks and reefs 52 percent (312), and offshore
8 percent (50). Prominent among the inshore species are jack (Caranx) and
grunt (Haemulon). Wing makes the point that some of the others, especially
porgy and bream (Sparidae), mullet (Mugil ), and tarpon (Megalops), could
only have been caught using seine nets. The stone net sinkers recovered in large
quantities at the site, together with wooden floats that have not survived, were
evidently used in the making of such nets. Bank and reef fish constitute the
majority, notably groupers (Serranidae), particularly the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus
striatus), snappers (Lutjanus), squirrelfish (Holocentrus), wrasse (Labridae),
parrot fish (Scaridae), and surgeonfish (Acanthurus). Their abundance,
as Wing suggests, reflects the fact that the Rio Nuevo flows into a very deep
bay and that there are coral reefs at its mouth. Fishing on the reefs required the
use of hooks and lines, and traps, as well as seine nets. The presence of black
durgon (Melichthys niger) indicates that “the people had the ability and willingness
to fish under conditions of greater risk,” since this species is typically
found along the outer side of reefs. Deepwater fishing is also indicated by the