Honoring Ancestors in Sacred Space: The Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century African-Bahamian Cemetery

197 Pages·2017·2.93 MB·English

by  Grace Turner

Honoring Ancestors in Sacred Space
Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

Honoring Ancestors in
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The Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century
African-Bahamian Cemetery
Grace Turner
University of Florida Press
Gainesville
Copyright 2017 by Grace Turner
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
22 21 20 19 18 17 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Turner, Grace, author.
Title: Honoring ancestors in sacred space : the archaeology of an
eighteenth-century African-Bahamian cemetery / Grace Turner.
Other titles: Ripley P. Bullen series.
Description: Gainesville : University of Florida Press, 2017. | Series:
Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen series | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017010460 | ISBN 9781683400202 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Blacks—Bahamas—Nassau—Antiquities. |
Cemeteries—Bahamas—Nassau. | Ethnoarchaeology—Bahamas—Nassau. |
Excavations (Archaeology)—Bahamas—Nassau. | African diaspora. | Nassau
(Bahamas)—Antiquities.
Classification: LCC F1659.N3 T87 2017 | DDC 972.96—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017010460
University of Florida Press
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://upress.ufl.edu
To the memory of my parents,
Chilean and Edna Turner (née Pinder).
They had to forego many of their personal dreams
but always encouraged their children
to dream their own dreams and pursue them.

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Introduction: Basic Assumptions 1
1. An Overview of Bahamian History in Context 11
2. African Influence on Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Cemeteries 41
3. European Influence on Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Cemeteries 62
4. St. Matthew’s Northern Burial Ground 69
5. Bioarchaeological Analysis of Remains 90
6. Interpretations of Artifacts and Ecofacts 97
7. Conclusion 140
Notes 151
References 159
Index 171

Figures
1.1. The Bahama Archipelago 12
2.1. Gravesite of David Moss 47
2.2. Dishes on a grave in Thompson Hill Cemetery 49
2.3. Dishes atop nineteenth-century tombs, Thompson Hill Cemetery 50
2.4. Ceramic bowl with base removed, Crooked Island 51
2.5. Gum elemi grave memorials, Colonel Hill Cemetery 53
2.6. Gum elemi grave memorials, Cockburn Town Cemetery 54
2.7. Grave memorial trees, Bethlehem Cemetery 54
3.1. Excavated grave sites, Centre Burial Ground 66
4.1. Plan showing the location of three burial grounds, 1826 71
4.2. Aerial photo showing the Northern Burial Ground site 75
4.3. Site map showing the geophysical survey area 77
4.4. A deep anomaly on the geophysical time slice at eight feet below land
surface 79
4.5. Wood slats interpreted as the in situ remains of a coffin 81
4.6. Excavation site map for Northern Burial Ground 84
4.7. Two limestone footstones still in their original position 84
4.8. Human cranial cap in the wall of excavation Unit 2 85
4.9. The first excavation team uncovers a cache of human bones 86
4.10. Limestone headstone buried below the ca. 1930s sidewalk 88
4.11. Participants in the second excavation team 89
5.1. Enamel hypoplasia on a right upper lateral incisor 94
6.1. Selection of polychrome painted decoration on tin-glazed 100
6.2. Hand-painted designs on tin-glazed blue on white sherds 101
6.3. Slipware with trailed, combed, and marbled designs 101