Geomorphological Assessment of Plantation Farmscapes in Antigua, West Indies

Summary

Geomorphological survey and analysis of anthropogenically modified soils surrounding the Betty’s Hope Plantation in Antigua, West Indies, sought to model the impacts of colonial farming on local landforms. Sugarcane was extensively farmed across the island from the mid-17th century until independence from Great Britain in 1981. Physical and chemical analysis of subsurface soils and sediments was conducted to understand the landscape legacies of British colonialism on landscape modification. This work is concerned with differentiating and modeling erosion and landscape degradation resulting from intensive agriculture. Geomorphological survey and analysis at Betty’s Hope is ongoing, with an ultimate goal of providing a complete picture of land degradation island-wide and across different time scales, both ancient and historic. This project contributes to archaeological research on post-abandonment degradation of a built landscape, while also considering the cumulative impacts to modern farmers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Student Contributions in Geoarchaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage