Archaeology and Digital Heritage at the Chief Jacko Site: Landscapes of Maroons in Dominica

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Global Archaeologies of the Long Emancipation", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

For more than 50 years hundreds of self-emancipated Africans inhabited the mountainous interior of the Caribbean island of Dominica (Wai’tukubuli) where they formed various communities who actively resisted European colonialism and slavery not only to maintain their freedom, but to assist in liberating enslaved Africans throughout the island. Contemporary Dominican communities maintain connections to these revolutionary ancestors through the landscape and cultural practices. None of the maroon encampments, however, have been studied archaeologically. This paper discusses one of the most renowned Dominican maroon camps, the Chief Jacko site. First, we discuss the significance of the site to Dominica’s heritage and contemporary communities, and efforts to protect and preserve this history. We also present preliminary results of a pedestrian reconnaissance survey and UAV photogrammetry of the site, as the first phase of archaeological research of Chief Jacko’s encampment.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023   •
• Global Archaeologies of the Long Emancipation

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow