Afro-Caribbean ware: A study of ethnicity of St. Eustatius

Abstract

The following study takes a preliminary step towards defining the range of physical and and formal attributes of one ceramic class, non-European coarse earthenwares, recovered archaeologically from 18th and 19th century contexts on the island of St. Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles. Research was structured to test the hypothesis that these earthenwares are the product of an Afro-American potting tradition operating within the Caribbean. Testing was achieved by a survey of documentary evidence, by an ethnoarchaeological study of contemporary West Indian potters, and by the development of a typology for the Statian assemblage. The typology is based upon paste attributes, combining both macroscopic description and corroborating mineralogical identification through thin section analysis. Formal descriptions of both reconstructible vessels and diagnostic sherds are included, and evidence relating formal attributes with paste types is presented. Finally, a review of the literature describing prehistoric ceramics from the Leeward Islands and historic period West African earthenwares is presented as comparative material. The results of this study are inconclusive, but the evidence is compatible with the hypothesis. Documents attest to the presence of Afro-American potters during the historic period in the West Indies, and to interisland trade of their products. Contemporary West Indian ethnoarchaeological data concerning forming and firing techniques, surface treatments and some formal characteristics are consistent with the Statian material. Mineralogical analysis confirmed macroscopic type divisions, and points, with two exceptions, to the exploitation of clays compatible with volcanic environments such as are found throughout the Leeward Islands. Formal analysis of the assemblages is inconclusive because of the small sample size of diagnostic sherds. Correlations between paste types and rim types are suggested by the preliminary data. Comparisons of formal and decorative attributes between prehistoric West Indian, historic West African, and archaeologically recovered sherds suggests a continuity with West African practices.