Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

Aboriginal Indian Remains in Jamaica by J. E. Duerden / 265
on the surface. Nearly all of the ornamentation is produced by animal forms
luted on. The most of these are monkey heads adorned with scrolled, circular,
and fluted coronets, and by deeply incised lines, often forming very ingenious
patterns. Others bear human faces, all grotesque, and the figures of mythological
animals. In one of them a W- shaped wreath or festoon is luted on the
outside.” Somewhat similar ornamental designs, likewise obtained from Porto
Rico, are figured from the “Guesde Collec-[41]tion” (Figures 209–214). Pieces
of pottery brought from Navassa, a small island between Hayti and Jamaica,
by the late Dr. Gayleard, are in the Museum collections. A few are figured in
the Journal of the Institute, September 1894 (Figures ii, iii, v, Plate facing page
70). They bear a much closer resemblance to the pottery of Porto Rico, than
to the Jamaican specimens.
In a paper by Prof. W. H. Holmes on “Caribbean Infl uence on the Prehistoric
Ceramic Art of the Southern States” (1894), the author attempts to show
that the decorative art of the mainland was strongly influenced by the art of
the Caribbean [The term Caribbean, as used in this paper by Prof. Holmes, refers
to the culture province, and not to a particular stock of people.] islands, although
no evidence is forthcoming that the Caribbean peoples had originally
belonged to or had taken permanent possession of the Florida- Georgia region.
He states that “among the remains of the region, as far as I know, no single implement
or article of sculptured stone of strictly Caribbean characters has been
found.” He further remarks (p. 74): “The most striking characteristics of the
West Indian decorative designs are complicated groupings of curved and broken
lines and the filling in of areas and interspaces with concentric circles and
angular figures.” Such designs occur on ancient vases found in Florida. From
the islands the examples are taken from the wooden stools of Turk’s Island. Prof.
Holmes further adds “that there is hardly a conventional linear design on the
whole series of carved wood and stone articles derived from the Antilles and attributed
to the Caribs that cannot be closely duplicated in the ceramic decorations
of the Florida- Appalache province.” Though the Jamaican pottery bears
no evidence of curved lines, the patterns on the metate (Plate IV) and on the
images, though less complex, have some similarity to the designs referred to.
In connection with the pottery of Hayti, Mr. H. Ling Roth in the “Aborigines
of Hispaniola” (p. 283) writes: “Pottery was a well developed art amongst
these people, for collectors seem to be able to find fragments marked with the
images peculiar to the Indians of this part of the world,” and adds that Herrera
speaks of their “earthenware pitchers handsomely made and painted;” and
that, “According to Benzoni, the cacique’s bread was baked in a round pipkin,
and they used also large jars or vases and pipkins in the manufacture of their
wine,” and he also refers to their idols being made of clay. Angleria mentions
special pots for cooking iguanas.