Bahamas (Other Keyword)
1-12 (12 Records)
In 2013, under the auspices of the Bahamas Antiquities, Monuments, and Museums Corporation, a re-survey of known prehistoric Lucayan sites on the island of Eleuthera was conducted in order to assess coastal storm surge and hurricane damage. In addition, two sites were subjected to test excavations in order to recover carbonized material suitable for carbon-14 dating. ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to identify subsurface features. Both sites, were partially covered by contemporary...
Changing Attitudes and Approaches to Shipwreck Archaeology in the Caribbean (2018)
Since its discovery more than 50 years ago the HIghborne Cay Wreck has been salvaged by antiquarians in 1966-67, partially excavated by archaeologists in 1986, and re-examined in 2017. The motivations, focus, techniques, and findings of each of these activities were very different and serve as examples of the evolution of attitudes and approaches to shipwreck archaeology in the Caribbean.
Excavations at the Fresh Lake site (SS-7), San Salvador Island, Bahamas (2016)
More than three dozen prehistoric sites exist on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. These consist of small settlements and work areas of the indigenous Lucayans. One of these sites, the Fresh Lake site (SS-7), has been the focus of research by Youngstown State University archaeologists each December since 2012. No clear signs of habitation have yet been found, although over 100 shell beads, along with pottery, shell tools, and shells and fish bones, have been recovered. In this paper, the nature of...
Exploring Records of Prehistoric Anthropogenic and Climate Change in the Bahama Archipelago (2016)
The peopling of the Bahama archipelago during the eighth through eleventh centuries AD occurred at a rapid pace. In this study we examine several data sets to understand this fast-moving expansion. Sedimentological and geochemical data derived from cores from inland ponds and lakes from several islands in the Bahama archipelago indicate that migration took place during periods of hurricane hyperactivity, sea level changes, and hydrological variability. Settlement data and material culture...
Highbourne Cay Shipwreck Revisited: 2015 Field Season and Preliminary Assessment (2016)
Previous investigations on the Highbourne Shipwreck in 1986 revealed key construction features that were backfilled for preservation. In May, 2015, a team of archaeologists returned to assess the site, and to answer reflexive questions regarding the effectiveness of partial excavations and backfill techniques. This new examination includes a pre-disturbance photogrammetry model, and limited shovel testing along previously excavated areas. Preliminary results discussed within this paper indicate...
"It is promised to them:" Loyalist Refugees’ Adaptation in the Exumas Cays, Bahamas (1784–1810) (2013)
The stone foundation ruins on Warderick Wells––an island in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Bahamas––have long been associated with refugee American Loyalists in the Bahamas after the American Revolution. Local oral tradition maintains that the Davis family occupied the property in the last quarter of the 18th century. Little historical evidence remains, however, to confirm the family association or the site’s connection to the Loyalists. The Exuma Cays were among several locations in the...
Marginality is the Mother of Invention: A New Institutional Economics Perspective (2016)
It has long been assumed that the original inhabitants of the Bahama archipelago practiced lifeways that were essentially identical to those practiced on their larger neighbors. Recent research suggests that there actually were substantial differences, including a much higher degree of mobility and a focus on maize instead of manioc cultivation. Some of these differences may be attributed to their origins in Cuba, versus Hispaniola; and the possibility that their ancestry can be traced to what...
No Man or Woman is an Island Revisited: The Social Construction of Small Island Space (2015)
The construction of space usually begins with the georeferencing of physical boundaries. As such, space becomes an external container that affects the structure of it contents. This paper explores the construction of space from the perspective of the individual. It begins by recognizing the minimal distance of face-to-face interactions and expands outward from there. The first step is to reject three-dimensional space and to situate the individual in an n-dimensional space. Production,...
Recreating the Bahamian Plantation Landscape: Charles Farquharson's Prospect Hill Plantation archeaology and historical insights (2013)
This paper will examine the construction of the plantation landscape drawing on both extent archaeological remains and documentary record for the plantation. Charles Farquharson's Prospect Hill plantation is one of the most studied sites in The Bahamas. Farquharson has the distinction of being the only out-island planter who left a diary from the plantation period, an important historical source for understanding plantation life. In addition to the textual record for the plantation, however,...
Revisiting the Highbourne Cay Shipwreck Site: Research Potential, Conservation in situ, and the future of Bahamian Material Culture (2015)
The Highbourne Cay Shipwreck, found in the Exumas, Bahamas, is the most intact example of a ‘Ship of Discovery’ in the world. The identity and purpose are still unknown, yet a recent, non-intrusive visit to the site recorded no obvious signs of damage to the ballast mound. Because the site has been disturbed and re-covered on two documented occasions, valuable reflexive questions can be asked decades later regarding the effectiveness of conservation in situ. Soon, the Bahamas will be lifting...
Visions of Colonial Landscapes: Through the Eyes of African Caribbean Communities (2016)
The National Museum of The Bahamas/Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation (AMMC) is the agency designated to identify, manage and conserve tangible and intangible cultural resources throughout The Bahamas. The AMMC is in the process of developing a protocol model that will further enhance the identification and conservation of identified and yet to be identified archaeological sites. An essential component of the development of this process is the inclusion of members of each island...
Zooarchaeological Records and Isotopic Systematics of Bahamian Hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami): are the Bahamas a distinct isotopic province? (2016)
Although the Bahamas are not geologically part of the Caribbean, they are culturally associated with the rest of the Caribbean Islands. Due to their unique geology the Bahamas can potentially be a distinct Pb and Sr isotopic province when compared to the rest of the Caribbean islands. Here we present the results of isotopic analysis of archaeological Bahamian hutia specimens from two pre-Columbian sites on Crooked Island (Crooked Island-8 and Crooked Island 14) located in the Bahamas, and one...