Plantation Archaeology in French Guiana: Results Investigations at Habitation Loyola

Author(s): Antoine Loyer Rousselle

Year: 2016

Summary

The Habitation Loyola (1668-1778) is a Jesuit mission and plantation located in French Guiana that was occupied between 1668 and 1768. The establishment was dedicated to the production of sugar, indigo, coffee, cocoa, and cotton to finance the evangelization of Amerindian groups in South America. This vast plantation site has been studied since 1996 through a partnership between Université Laval and French researchers. The latest excavations (2011-2015) have been conducted on the storehouse and cemetery areas. The remains of a structure and black sediments found under the storehouse could be related to an earlier blacksmith. Moreover, metallurgic analyses have shown chemical correspondence between ore, slag and preforms, suggesting metallurgic extraction. In this paper we seek to address the most recent excavations conducted on the plantation site in addition to interpretive perspectives related to the study of African American lifeways and cultural interaction. 

Cite this Record

Plantation Archaeology in French Guiana: Results Investigations at Habitation Loyola. Antoine Loyer Rousselle. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434382)

Keywords

Temporal Keywords
18th Century

Spatial Coverage

min long: -141.003; min lat: 41.684 ; max long: -52.617; max lat: 83.113 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 903