Abstract:

This volume provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of the archaeology of a single Caribbean island yet published. Drawing together scholars from the Caribbean, north America and Europe, all working from a range of disciplines within the broader scope of archaeology, and drawing upon recent and innovative fieldwork, the collected papers touch upon a wider variety of archaeological case studies.

Divided into four sections each under the editorial supervision of a specialist scholar, the papers contained in this volume start with an overview of different approaches to the pre-contact archaeology of the island of Barbados and focus upon recent debates and issues surrounding material culture, economic change and site location. Two following sections focus upon recent developments in historical archaeology, looking at a series of urban and plantation case studies, and then the application of scientific techniques to material cultural and ecofactual evidence. The final section considers the social implications of Barbados’ past and recent developments in community heritage, education and management.

Extensively illustrated and referenced, this volume considers in detail the historical diversity of archaeological work undertaken on the island, yet will also look forward to examine the key trends and currents that will inform the study of the archaeology of Barbados in the future. With such a rich wealth of material, this is a volume that will have considerable impact upon the wider context of Caribbeanist archaeology, history and heritage studies.

Contents

Introduction: The Past and Present of Archaeology in Barbados
Douglas Armstrong, Alissandra Cummins, Maaike de Waal, Kevin Farmer, Niall Finneran and Matthew Reilly

Section One: Pre-Colonial Archaeology

Barbados Natural Landscapes. Conditions for Pre-colonial Settlement, Site Preservation and Archaeological Fieldwork
Maaike de Waal

Archaic Age Barbados and the Works of Peter Drewett
Scott Fitzpatrick and Maaike de Waal

The Pre-Colonial Pottery of Barbados
Mary Hill Harris

Amerindian Cultural Landscapes in Ceramic Age Barbados
Maaike de Waal

Pre-Colonial Barbados: Rituals, Objects and Use of Space
Quetta Kaye

Section Two: Historical Archaeology

St. Nicholas Abbey: Centering People in Plantation Archaeology in Barbados in the Twenty-First Century
Frederick Smith

Trents Plantation: Small-Farm to a Landscape of Power and Enslavement
Douglas Armstrong

‘A Free Prospect to the Sea’: Framing an Urban Archaeological Biography of Speightstown (St Peter Parish)
Niall Finneran, Alexander Gray and Rachel Lichtenstein

Watch Towers: Surveillance and Control in the Aftermath of the 1816 Barbadian Slave Revolt
Alan Armstrong

The 2009 and 2010 Synagogue Excavations: An Exploration of the Material Culture of the first 100 years of the Nidhe Israel Community
Derek Miller

Section Three: Material Culture and Human Lifeways

‘Are they local or foreign?’: An examination of some Barbadian potteries and market networks
Kevin Farmer, Jeffrey Ferguson and Michael Glasscock

Health and Life Histories of Enslaved Sugar Producers from the Newton Plantation, Barbados: 35 Years of Bioarchaeological Research
Kristrina Shuler, Hannes Schroeder and William D. Stevens

Are they Barbadian? Inferring Identity and Ethnic Affiliation for the Pierhead and Fontabelle Burial Grounds: the Bioarchaeological and Biohistorical Evidence.
Christopher Crain and Kevin Farmer

Sourcing Domestic and Industrial Ceramics from Trents Plantation, Barbados using LA-ICP-MS (Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry)
Lindsay Bloch

Colonial Foodways in Barbados: A Diachronic Study of Faunal Remains from Trent’s Plantation, Seventeenth-Nineteenth centuries
Diane Wallman

Section Four: Issues in Cultural Heritage Management in Barbados in the Twenty-First Century

Collaborative Archaeology in a “Redleg” Tenantry
Matthew Reilly and Ainsley Norris

Young children’s Agency within Barbadian Community Heritage: A Children’s Rights and Sustainable Development Model.
Lucy Willans and Liesje Cole-Pragnell

Participation, Democratization and Digitization. A post-modern Approach to Barbados’ Heritage in the Twenty-First century.
Niall Finneran, Laura Hampden, Alice Lathbury

Of Roots and Routes: Visioning Barbados’ Cultural Heritage through Trails Development
Tara Inniss

Where Are the Shipwrecks? Recent Directions in Maritime Archaeology and Heritage in Barbados
Niall Finneran

Epilogue: The Future of Barbados’ Past.
Douglas Armstrong, Maaike de Waal, Kevin Farmer, Niall Finneran and Matthew Reilly