Pre-Columbian Jamaica (Caribbean Archaeology and Ethnohistory)

Much of Jamaican prehistoric research—like that in the rest of the Caribbean basin—has been guided by at least a subconscious attempt to allow prehistoric native peoples to find their places within the charts established by Irving Rouse, who guided Caribbean research for much of the last half-century. The pre-Columbian peoples of Jamaica, and not merely their material culture, are beginning to take form, revealing their lifestyles and rituals, and taking their rightful place among the cultures of the New World. Pre-Columbian Jamaica represents the first substantial attempt to summarize the prehistoric evidence from the island in a single published account since J. E. Duerden’s invaluable 1897 article on the subject, which is also reprinted within this volume. The book is designed to provide general commentary that can stand alone and be read as a continuous narrative; and as an additional and valuable resource is the accompanying CD-ROM that furnishes a great range of further illustrations, data, calculations, measurements, and comparisons. This data is curated at the Archaeology Laboratory at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, in Kingston, and was presented to the university by Dr. James Lee in 2000. His gift, and the comprehensive study that followed, provide the impetus for both the book and the CD-ROM.

Much of Jamaican prehistoric research-like that in the rest of the Caribbean basin-has been guided by at least a subconscious attempt to allow prehistoric native peoples to find their places within the charts established by Irving Rouse, who guided Caribbean research for much of the last half-century. The pre-Columbian peoples of Jamaica, and not merely their material culture, are beginning to take form, revealing their lifestyles and rituals, and taking their rightful place among the cultures of the New World.

Pre-Columbian Jamaica represents the first substantial attempt to summarize the prehistoric evidence from the island in a single published account since J. E. Duerden's invaluable 1897 article on the subject, which is also reprinted within this volume. The book is designed to provide general commentary that can stand alone and be read as a continuous narrative. However, to make the best use of it, the accompanying CD provides the great range of illustrations, data, calculations, measurements, and comparisons that are prohibitively expensive to produce the printed word. There the reader will find exhaustive information on 271 prehistoric sites in Jamaica and on the material evidence from 191 of them.

About the Author:
P. Allsworth-Jones is currently a research fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield in England

Annotation Much of Jamaican prehistoric researchlike that in the rest of the Caribbean basinhas been guided by at least a subconscious attempt to allow prehistoric native peoples to find their places within the charts established by Irving Rouse, who guided Caribbean research for much of the last half-century. The pre-Columbian peoples of Jamaica, and not merely their material culture, are beginning to take form, revealing their lifestyles and rituals, and taking their rightful place among the cultures of the New World. Pre-Columbian Jamaica represents the first substantial attempt to summarize the prehistoric evidence from the island in a single published account since J.E. Duerdens invaluable 1897 article on the subject, which is also reprinted within this volume. The book is designed to provide general commentary that can stand alone and be read as a continuous narrative; and as an additional and valuable resource is the accompanying CD-ROM that furnishes a great range of further illustrations, data, calculations, measurements, and comparisons. This data is curated at the Archaeology Laboratory at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, in Kingston, and was presented to the university by Dr. James Lee in 2000. His gift, and the comprehensive study that followed, provide the impetus for both the book and the CD-ROM Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 12 The Lee Collection CD- ROM Inventory......Page 14 1. Introduction......Page 18 2. History of Investigation......Page 25 3. General Frameworks for Caribbean Prehistory......Page 49 4. Environment, Fauna, and Flora......Page 63 5. Nature of the Collection......Page 78 6. Mapping the Sites......Page 92 7. Cultural Variants......Page 101 8. Petroglyphs and Pictographs......Page 121 9. Excavated Sites and Fauna......Page 128 10. Burials and Human Remains......Page 141 11. Conclusion......Page 149 Appendix A......Page 152 Appendix B......Page 206 Appendix C......Page 212 Appendix D......Page 216 References Cited......Page 304 Index......Page 326 Pre-columbian Jamaica Represents The First Substantial Attempt To Summarize The Prehistoric Evidence From The Island In A Single Published Account.--back Cover. Introduction -- History Of Investigation -- General Frameworks For Caribbean Prehistory -- Environment, Fauna, And Flora -- Nature Of The Collection -- Mapping The Sites -- Cultural Variants -- Petroglyphs And Pictographs -- Excavated Sites And Fauna -- Burials And Human Remains -- Conclusion. P. Allsworth-jones. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [287]-307) And Index. Intends to summarize the prehistoric evidence from the island of Jamaica. This book is designed to provide general commentary that can stand alone and be read as a continuous narrative. It includes a CD-ROM that furnishes a range of illustrations, data, calculations, measurements, and comparisons