Analysis of an African Burial Ground in Nineteenth-Century Jamaica

Abstract

This article analyzes a nineteenth-century cemetery of African-heritage individuals on a coffee plantation in Jamaica. While subsurface archaeological excavations were not undertaken, a survey of the site's surface was conducted for mortuary patterns, which revealed information on the burial practices of African-descended people in nineteenth-century Jamaica. The analysis focused on documentary records, oral accounts, and especially contemporary local interpretations of the materials and plants used to create the gravescape, which provided clues as to the meanings they likely conveyed for the people who created them. The resulting burial-ground landscape and oral traditions provide insights into the relationship between the living and the dead. In addition to the use of specific material artifacts, the deliberate selection of plants also provides evidence of the importance of plants in Jamaican belief systems. Thus, the cemetery served as a site of convergence for the cultural and natural landscapes.

Keywords:

• Jamaica
• plantation
• cemetery
• slavery
• funerary practices