Notes on the Pottery of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire: A Survey of the Non-Ceramic Artifacts of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire

77 Pages·1960·7.722 MB·English

by  C. J. Dury, H. R. van Heekeren (auth.)

UITGAVEN VAN DE NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJKE
WERKGROEP NEDERLANDSE ANTILLEN
PUBLICATIONS OF THE NATURAL SCIENCE STUDY GROUP
OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
Natuurwltlnschappelijke belangstllling voor de N8derlandse Antillen (Scientific
interests in the NetherIands Antilles) door P. WAGENAAR. HUMMELINCK,
1951,31 blz., 8 platen • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . • Af 1.-
2 Rotstlkeningen van Curafao, Aruba sn Bonaire (Linear rock designs of Curac;ao,
Aruba and Bonaire) door P. WAGENAAR. HUMMELINCK, 1953, 36 blz.,
6 platen • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Afl.-
3 Gekwuktl sn nuttige plantln van de Nederlandsche Antillen (Cultivated and
usefu1 p1ants of the Netherlands Antilles) door Fa. M. ARNOLDO (A. N.
Broeders), 1954, 149 blz., 63 platen. • . • • . • • • • • • • • • . Af6.-
4 Wat in het wild groeit en bloeit op Cura;ao, Aruba en Bonaire. Zakjlora (Pocket
flora of Curac;ao, Aruba and Bonaire) door Fa. M. ARNOLDO (A. N.
Broeders), 1954, 170 blz., 68 platen. . • • • . • • • • • • • • • • Af4.-
5 De vogels van de Nederlandse Antillen. BiTds of ehe Netherlands Antilles, door
K. H. Voous, 1955,205 blz., 5 ongekleurde en 22 gekl. platen • . . Af8.-
6 Rotstlkeningsn van Cura;ao, Aruba sn Bonaire, 11 (Linear rock designs of
Curac;ao, Aruba and Bonaire, 11) door P. WAGENAAR HUMMELINCK,
1957, 34 blz., 20 platen. • • . • • . . • • • • • • • • . . • • • Af 1.-
7 De geologische geschiedenis der drie bovenwindse eilanden St. Martin, Saba sn St.
Eustatius (The geological history of St. Martin, Saba and St. Eustratius)
door J. H. WESTERMANN, 1957,42 blz., 10 platen • • • • • • . • • Afl.-
8 Prenda Antiyano. Verjaardagskalender, Kalinder di cumpleallos, 1958, 26 blz.
met foto's en tekeningen • • . • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • Af2.-
9 Studies on ehe physical anthropology of the Netherlands Antilies. I Indiaanse
skeletvondstln op Aruba sn CUTa;ao (Indian ske1etal discoveries in Aruba and
Curac;ao) door P. WAGENAAR. HUMMELINCK; 11 Indian skeletal rll7ltlins
from Aruba, by J. TAcoMA; 36 blz., 9 platen • • • • • • • • • • • Afl.-
10 Studies on ehe archaeology of ehe Netherlands Antilles. I Nolls on the pottery of
Aruba, Curafao and Bonaire, by C. J. Du Rv; 11 A survey of ehe non-ceramk
artifacts of Aruba, Cura;ao and Bonaire, by H. R. VAN HEEKEREN; 1960,
40 blz., 26 platen . . • • . . • • • • • • . . • . . . . . • •. Af2.-
11 De kustvormsn van Curafao, Aruba snBonaire (The coasts of Curac;ao, Aruba
and Bonaire) door P. H. DE BUISONJE enJ. I. S. ZONNEVELD, 1960, 24
blz., 7 platen . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . • . . . • • • • • Af 1.-
12 De z:oogdiersn van de Nederlandse Antillen. Mammals of ehe Netherlands An
tilles, door A. M. HUSSON (in press)
In de handel gebracht door
BOEKHANDEL SALAS, Willemstad, Curac;ao
voor wat de Nederlandse Antillen betreft
en
SPRlNGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
STUDIES ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
I-II
De zoogdie't'en Van de Nederlandse Antillen. Mammals of the Netherlands
AntilleSa oor A..M:.H-".=us-so-n-" 196ö, 168 blz., 43 platen:-:- • • • • •• A. f
Rotstesen.1 en Van Cura9ao,. At'uba en Bonaire, III (Linear rock
c1esi.gns of "curaCä'ö" A'ruba and BonaIre,III ) doör'"'P. Wagen aar
.•...
~urnmellnck, 1961, 44 blz., 16 platen ••••••• =~=:=:=~ A f
:::=::========
"Nos tera ta baranca, i solo ta kima.-
- Ma toch nos ta stim'eIe, Ariba tur nacion."
STUDIES ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES: 1-11
NOTES ON THE POTTERY OF
ARUBA, CURACAO AND BONAIRE
,
BY
C. J. DU RY
A SURVEY OF THE
NON- CERAMIC ARTIFACTS
OF ARUBA, CURACAO AND BONAIRE
,
BY
H. R. V AN HEEKEREN
--
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SPRlNGER-SClENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
ISBN 978-94-015-3761-2 ISBN 978-94-015-3848-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-015-3848-0
Reprinted from
NIEUWE WESTINDISCHE GIDS XL
C. J. DU RY
STUDIES ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES: I
NOTES ON THE POTTERY OF ARUBA,
CURA<;AO AND BONAIRE
For more than eighty years the Dutch islands off the north coast
of Venezuela have aroused the archaeological interest of a few
people, whose work the government has failed to appreciate.
Whenever an appeal was made to the competent authorities in
the horne country to try to cast more light on the past of the
islands under its rule, a barrier of bureaucratic dilatoriness and
amiable misunderstanding was encountered, and hence the few
ardent advocates of the Antillean cause should not be blamed
for not having managed to elevate archaeological knowledge of
the region to a respectable level.
Moreover, none of the persons concerned has been a prof
essional archaeologist. Father A. J. VAN KOOLWIJK cannot be
described as such, and nor can Professor J. P. B. DE ]OSSELIN
DE ]ONG. However, the latter, though really an ethnologist and
linguist, is entitled to be called an archaeologist on account of
his careful and scientific methods. Dr. P. WAGENAAR HUMME
LINCK is not a trained archaeologist either; as a zoologist, he
naturally has quite another sphere of activity. But his many
sided love for the islands has also made hirn an indefatigable
champion of the cause of archaeology there.
The National Museum of Ethnology (Rijksmuseum voor Volken
kunde) at Leiden now has an extensive collection of archaeol
ogical specimens which has been amassed by the above-mentioned
persons.1
Since VAN KOOLWIJK'S material has already been published
bij DE ]OSSELIN DE ]ONG, we have mainly paid attention to the
1 HUMMELlNCK not only did collecting work himself, but also obtained
material from several other sources, such as the Dominican Fathers in
Bonaire; A. D. RINGMA (Cura~ao and Aruba); Dr. A. C. J. BURGERS
(Bonaire); and G. BOGAERS (Aruba).
SI
C. J. DU RY
Fig. 1 Sketchmap of the Islands Aruba, Cura~ao and Bonaire, showing
localities mentioned in the text.
latter two eolleetions, about whieh nothing has yet made known.
Preparation of this material raised many problems. We rec
eived it with but little information, whieh did not enable us to
get a eorrect idea of its arehaeologieal eontext. Stratigraphie
data were eompletely absent, and it is preeisely these whieh are
so important to investigation of a site, to enable the various
periods of oeeupation and their relative ages to be determined.
Even if the site eoneerned has had only one period of habitation,
the stratigraphie situation of the speeimens nevertheless remains
important in that they will show us at any rate the initial and
final dates of settlement.
The arehaeology of our three islands at onee makes special
demands in this respeet. The eomparatively one-sided develop
ment of the Indian population and, on the other hand, the nature
of the soil (Le. erosion and, in particular, the insignificant
thiekness of the eoneentrations of shells) render stratigraphy
weIl nigh out of the question.
Henee it must have been impossible for DE JOSSELIN DE JONG,
when digging at Santa Cruz, Aruba, in 1923, to see where exaetly
the virgin soil began; where the old surfaee line (Le. the stratum
on which the historical population lived) was; and in what rel
ation to these strata the potsherds or other objeets were found.
Moreover, in many plaees the soil had been ploughed, and eonseq
uently it is highly probable that nothing is lying in its original
plaee, or has been lying there sinee the first exeavation. Anyway,
he had the sherds earefully put away and c1assified in large
drawers. As regards the site at Santa Cruz, where he dug in
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-.(Rtl8A CtlRA('AO ..OMA/RE ~. ~ -, .i.ASAVES . LOSROfiVES '. BLAN~V~"A h . _-!;~Cfl/l.4 (ÖRO ,1IAR~TOCUYO 70RTlIGA COSTA OE LA <::> ~S CVBAltUA<=> ~ c \' (). \ AfOGly'Gl. _ IAGUAIRA /SAN FEUP,E PUERTÖC;ABElLO CARA= • MARACAY. LOSrEQUeS eARQUI~IMETO VALENCIAQ ~RCELONA GUAPO TOCI!.YO TR~J1LlO u v E Z L E N E Fig.2 Sketchmap of northern and middle Venezuela, showing lmentioned in the text.
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C. J. DU RY
three different places, precise indications have been given as to
whether the object concerned comes from trench A, B or C,
while every square metre in the trench has been numbered and
the depth at which the object was found has been indicated as
either 0 to 25 or 25 to 50 cm. The same obtains for the other
sites that were excavated by him, such as Savaneta in Aruba
and Sint J an, Knip and Asiento in Cura~ao.
Thanks to DE JOSSELIN DE JONG'S description of VAN KooL
WIJK'S material (1918), and owing to the long-known connection
between the islands and the mainland of Venezuela, it was possi
ble for us to try to group the different kinds of pottery by com
paring them with material from Venezuela.
We started our investigation by distinguishing the various
earthenware utensils and by carefully sorting them info, for
instance, figurines, amulets, griddles, pottery discs, and finally
ordinary domestic crockery, which may itself be subdivided
into different sorts. In archaeology, in most cases, and certainly
in this particular case, pottery is the most important starting
point for a historical reconstruction of the area to be investigated.
Accordingly, we tried to draw up a relative chronology on the
basis of the pottery. With the aid of the sherds we had to attempt
to ascertain whether, and, if so, in what sequence, various civiliz
ations had followed one another, or, if there could only have
been one single continuous civilization, what important facts
are conspicuous in it and what chronological relations were with
the contemporary inhabitants of neighbouring countries or
regions of which more is known.
It stands to reason that a relative chronology gives no more
than an unsatisfactory solution. But it is an indispensable prel
iminary to an absolute chronology, which can and should only
be based upon datings by means of radioactive carbon, pollen
analysis or glottochronological determinations of dates.
In establishing our relative chronology we started from various
factors, viz.: historical correlations, which did not carry us
farther back than the Spanish conquest of the islands; geological
and geomorphological correlations; probable economic circum
stances; trade and dissemination; and finally the typology of
the pottery. In this we relied mainly on the publications by
C. OSGOOD & G. D. HOWARD: An Archaeological S~ervey 01
Venezuela, 1943, and A. KIDDER 11: Archaeology 01 Northwestern
Venezuela, 1944.