Life and death at precolumbian Lavoutte, Saint Lucia, Lesser Antilles

Abstract

The Caribbean archaeological record requires immediate attention and protection. Development and natural forces have impacted archaeological sites, destroying or severely damaging them. The precolumbian site of Lavoutte, located in northern Saint Lucia, has been known as a major Late Ceramic Age (a.d. 1000–1500) settlement since the 1960s, but it has been damaged over the past decades by both natural and human processes. Multidisciplinary field and laboratory methodologies were implemented during a rescue project at the site from 2009 to 2010. This paper presents the results of collaborative efforts between local and international organizations. The first goal was to demonstrate the importance of protection and rescue of endangered archaeological sites. Secondly, we aimed to show that by adopting a multidisciplinary approach including artifact analysis, bioarchaeology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and geochemistry, severely damaged sites can be of significant informational value.

Keywords:

• rescue archaeology
• mortuary behavior
• Lesser Antilles
• precolumbian
• Caribbean archaeology
• bioarchaeology
• human mobility

The project was facilitated by the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, the Netherlands Foundation for Scientific Research, and the Saint Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society (SLAHS). We would like to acknowledge specifically Mr. Eric Milton Branford (archaeological secretary and administrator), Mrs. Rosemary Husbands-Mathurin (president), Dr. Dennis Williams (historical secretary), and Mr. Ian Constantine (executive member) of SLAHS for their invaluable efforts to implement the reassessment of the site. We would also like to thank the Saint Lucia Government, in particular the Honorable Gaspard Peter David Charlemagne, Minister of Culture. We are grateful to all the Saint Lucian volunteers, Bill Keegan from the Florida Museum of Natural History (Gainesville) and his entire field team, and the students from Leiden University for their motivation and hard work during the fieldwork. Special thanks go to Anne van Duijvenbode for formatting the text of this article.

Corinne L. Hofman (Ph.D. 1993, Leiden University) is Professor of Caribbean archaeology at Leiden University, the Netherlands. Her research interests include Caribbean archaeology, mobility and exchange, geochemical analyses, pre-colonial cosmology, and Caribbean ceramics.

Menno L. P. Hoogland (Ph.D. 1996, Leiden University) is Associate Professor in Caribbean archaeology and funerary archaeology at Leiden University, the Netherlands. His research interests include Caribbean archaeology, mortuary behavior, archaeothanatology, and settlement archaeology.

Hayley L. Mickleburgh (Research M.A. 2007, Leiden University) is a Ph.D. Researcher at Leiden University, the Netherlands. Her research interests include Caribbean archaeology, dental anthropology, paleodiet, and bioarchaeology.

Jason E. Laffoon (M.A. 2006, University of Illinois-Chicago) is a Ph.D. Researcher at Leiden University, the Netherlands. His research interests include Caribbean archaeology, migration and mobility, paleodiet, archaeometry, and bioarchaeology.

Darlene A. Weston (Ph.D. 2004, University College London) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Her research interests include human osteoarchaeology, paleopathology, and paleodemography.

Mike H. Field (Ph.D. 1992, University of Cambridge) is Associate Professor in paleobotany at Leiden University, the Netherlands. His research interests include European vegetation history, the reconstruction of Pleistocene environments, and Caribbean archaeology.