Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

6 / Mapping the Sites
James Lee commenced his project of “mapping all known Arawak sites in Jamaica”
in 1959, with the encouragement of William J. Bryant (AJ 1978, 4:3–4).
“The prime goal was to map each site on such a scale as would permit its later
relocation by any person experienced in map reading.” He stated that previous
archaeological mapping in Jamaica had fallen “far short of this standard.” It
became clear at once that a “site numbering system” was needed. As explained
in Chapter 1, 13 letters were selected to represent the parishes (Kingston and
St. Andrew being combined in one) and site numbers were assigned within
each parish “approximately in chronological sequence of discovery.” “Areas
containing occupation debris,” that is, middens, were given separate numbers
wherever there was a “sterile space” of 400 m (a quarter of a mile) or more between
them. “Burial caves, petroglyph and pictograph sites were grouped together
and numbered in a different sequence prefixed by parish letter plus a C.”
In the example given already, therefore, site C1 in Clarendon is Round Hill
and site CC1 (with petroglyphs) is Milk River. Ordinarily, Lee reported, it was
possible to make “detailed sketch plans” of the sites by pace and compass, and
for many of the middens reported here such plans were made. An example is at
Figure 16. The sketch plans are not included in the CD- ROM, but the mapped
position of each site is indicated.
As mentioned in Chapter 2, arbitrary designations in terms of the Lee system
have been given to five “new” sites that were discovered or investigated after
he finished his work on the island. This has been done for the sake of consistency
in the present context. It is understood that, before he left, Lee provided