Afro-Caribbean Ceramics of St. Croix: The Intersection of Clay Sourcing Analyses and Afro-Crucian Heritage

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

From 2016 to 2019, excavations at Christiansted National Historic Site on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands associated with the Slave Wrecks Project, have resulted in the collection of thousands of artifacts associated with the Danish West India and Guinea Warehouse Complex (AD 1749 to circa AD 1854). This assemblage contains hundreds of Afro-Caribbean colonoware, often referred to as Afro-Crucian ware. Former analyses have developed and expanded the initial ware typology, but questions concerning the origin of production remain. This presentation will assess the results of clay sourcing methods used to reevaluate the typology and function of Afro-Crucian ware. These analyses sought to determine whether these wares were produced locally or were products of importation, thus indicative of potential interaction spheres between various Afro-Caribbean communities throughout the Antilles. These results further illuminate how Afro-Crucian ware represents the cultural and economic perseverance of Afro-Crucians through ceramic production, despite colonial oppressive conditions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37133.0