In Search of African Material Culture.
Archaeology is the study of human history through the analysis of excavated artifacts and features, material culture of past human activities. It can involve both field work and intense analyses to answer the following questions. What were their origins, how they were made, how did they get to the site where they were recovered, how were they used, and what do they tell us about the past people, their culture, economy, technology, activities and much more?
Photo: Archaeology at Betty’s Hope Estate Kitchen.
Research and excavations at historical period sites on Antigua and Barbuda over the years, have uncovered large quantities of artifacts that have provided insights into many of these questions, whilst presenting others and new lines of research. One of the questions that remains at the forefront of our archaeological work on Antigua is finding, recognizing, and interpreting African material culture within the archaeological materials and landscapes. Thus, for the past 25 years we have been focused on sites that have documented records, and archaeological potential that have not been too badly disturbed by development. These include, Betty’s Hope Estate, Shirley’s Heights, Clarence House, Great George Fort, Middle Ground, and the Warner Estate to mention a few.
Historical archaeological artifacts on Antigua consists of 17th to 20th century British material culture. Despite being on an island where the population has been predominantly African for several hundred years, with a comparatively small British population, the primary archaeological materials found at all sites are British imports. Excavations have been conducted at sugar estates or military compounds, and yield large varieties and quantities of earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, tin-enameled pottery along with bottles, clay smoking pipes, and iron objects at both the great houses, and the areas where enslaved people resided.
Only occasionally are artifacts associated with the African population found among the British/European materials, and these are predominantly small ornamental glass beads and fragments of locally made pottery. This is not surprising as enslaved people were forcibly brought to the Americas with no material goods, yet a few retained beads and even fewer, manillas which were bracelets of copper or bronze. These ornaments are rare finds of significance, but of far greater importance to archaeologists, are the artifacts and features that were made on the island.
What the enslaved peoples brought was knowledge and traditions; memories that reflected their culture and origins. During the restoration at Clarence House, excavations beneath the ground floor uncovered three pieces of pottery that had angular geometric patterns incised into the exterior of the vessel. A few other fragments have been found on sugar estates and analysis and consultations with colleagues working in West Africa confirmed the design as common to northern Ghana and Nigeria in the late 18th century.
Pottery is an ideal medium for it carries “information” on many levels, such as its intended use, the maker’s technological skills and knowledge, and stylistic additions that are common to one’s culture. These stylistic and technological features of pottery have therefore enabled us to follow the origins and development of Afro-Antiguan pottery from its West African traditions to the modern popular cooking and ornamental vessels from Sea View Farm.
Also recognized are grinding hollows at Middle Ground and Block House. These oval shaped holes are smooth and polished from use as they were used to process grain and food is areas where wooden mortars were not available.
These grinding hollows are located at barracks where the West Indian Regiments of African soldiers were stationed. Comparative research with archaeologists working in West Africa noted remarkable similarities to those of the Sukur Region of Northern Ghana and Nigeria, West Africa.
This is important as it provides insights into the life of the enslaved Africans as they were able to utilize their past traditions and culture to survive and adapt to a vastly different environment. Thus, it is no surprise to find African ceramics at a Georgian Style Great House for senior naval officers, Bright Floral bowls and Feathered edge plates, Delft tin-enameled bowls, Annular creamware, and clay smoking pipes at the enslaved barracks. Many of these products were available for purchase or barter at the “slave-market”, or from soldiers and sailors who were in constant need of fresh produces and rum. We do not see the wooden bowls, the gourds, or their “houses” as these are all perishable artifacts, but additional insights can be found in the numerous diaries and records of the period.
Many lessons can be learned from the study of material culture of historical sites on Antigua and on other islands. Here, historical archaeology is still in its infancy and most colonial period sites have never been excavated or even surveyed, yet this line of research is providing insights into the development of our unique Antiguan and Caribbean culture. From a “material perspective”, Antiguan material culture is predominantly British with small but significant tangible elements of African culture. New directions in archaeological sciences are now moving far beyond the frontiers of basic analyses to include bone chemistry, DNA, and more. But while these new 21st century methods will provide answers to some of our older questions, they too will without a doubt, present newer questions about our collective past and history.
