Analyzing Afro-Caribbean Ware from Fort Amsterdam (SE094) and Battery Rotterdam (SE129) on St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Exploring Globalization and Colonialism through Archaeology and Bioarchaeology: An NSF REU Sponsored Site on the Caribbean’s Golden Rock (Sint Eustatius)" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In June 2018, excavations were conducted at Fort Amsterdam, a military fortification, on the leeward side of St. Eustatius, along the Caribbean coast. Many different types of ceramics were found during the investigations, including Afro-Caribbean Ware made by enslaved and freed Africans. This study analyzes the recovered Afro-Caribbean Ware using a typology developed by Barbara Heath (1988) and examines the effects globalization had on the Dutch and enslaved Africans living within and near Fort Amsterdam during the 18th century. Another important aspect is to understand how these two different communities interacted with each other near Battery Rotterdam, Godet Cemetery and Fort Amsterdam. The data for this study was collected from Fort Amsterdam and Godet Cemetery in June 2018 and data from Battery Rotterdam was excavated and collected from December 2016 to January 2018. A total of 387 sherds was recovered and categorized according to Heath’s typology. Sherds from the sites are primarily types 1 and 3 (A & B) indicating that the pottery was potentially made locally or on nearby islands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Exploring Globalization and Colonialism through Archaeology and Bioarchaeology: An NSF REU Sponsored Site on the Caribbean’s Golden Rock (Sint Eustatius)   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24427