Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

Principal Excavated Sites in Jamaica / 177
cording to him, a tractor had already destroyed some of the deposits, hence he
regarded his work as a “rescue project.” A “severely disturbed human burial
in a crouched position” had also been located in 1986, “on the upper slope of
Mr. Henry’s property to the south- east.” Four trenches were excavated; each
said to be 4 x 2 m in size. Trenches I and IV were both located near the fence of
the Firefly property on the summit of the hill, whereas trenches II and III were
dug “on the lower slopes.” All were taken down to bedrock. Trench II contained
no artifacts, and trench III produced only a few, hence Reid’s report relates essentially
to trenches I and IV only. In this area bedrock was said to be at a depth
of 25 to 30 cm. Large quantities of shells and faunal remains (especially fish)
were found but were not described in detail. Lithic artifacts mentioned include
flakes, tools, and cores of chert, sandstone, and granite, as well as some petaloid
celts. Three “postholes” were located at a depth of 10 to 12 cm, but it was not
stated in which trench these were found.
Reid divided the ceramics into two groups. “First, about 60% of the ceramics
are thick and coarse- grained with a reddish- brown to brown colour.”
“The remaining 40% were thin, fine- grained, and many of them had a noticeable
red slip.” The two groups were said to correspond to White Marl and Redware
occupations respectively, the latter being expected to “clearly predate” the
former, although no claim was advanced that a stratigraphic distinction had
been made between them. Reid observed that “to have discovered two different
Arawak cultural strains on one site is indeed rare in Jamaica and therefore
the Wentworth site has special archaeological significance.” He recommended
that “ follow- up excavations” should be conducted to confirm or disprove this
assertion.
A further small excavation was carried out by the UWI–Murray State University
team in March 2002, with Henry’s permission, in order to verify these
results. The work was confined to the eastern part of Reid’s trench IV, where
a section was dug to a maximum depth of 60 cm. Three stratigraphic layers
were identified, a medium brown topsoil, a gray- brown “midden” deposit, and
a basal red layer immediately above bedrock, in places only. The soil stratigraphy,
however, did not correspond to any cultural differentiation. In the excavated
area as a whole, about 1,800 potsherd fragments and 300 pieces of chert
were recovered, as well as a few other pieces such as coral and ground stone and
one stone bead. So far as the pottery is concerned, incised decoration and filleted
rims occurred from top to bottom. Sherds of this type were found at the
very base of the sequence. This fact, and the complete absence of any sign of
pottery with red slip, in an area immediately adjacent to that dug by him, is not