In this article the authors present the osteobiographical analysis of a unique burial from Saba, an island in the Caribbean Netherlands. Historical, archaeological, osteological, and isotopic... Show moreIn this article the authors present the osteobiographical analysis of a unique burial from Saba, an island in the Caribbean Netherlands. Historical, archaeological, osteological, and isotopic analysis indicate that this is the burial of a first generation enslaved African woman and her unborn child, which occurred between 1762 and 1780. These individuals probably died during protracted preterm labour possibly caused by a variety of factors including infection, malnutrition, and an extremely narrow pelvic inlet. In the past, narratives of enslavement on Saba have often been overlooked because the island did not engage in a full plantation economy. However, these skeletons are able to provide detailed first-hand evidence for the hardships of Saban enslavement, and thereby contribute to wider conversations on slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean. Show less
Waal, M.S. de; Lesparre, J.; Espersen, R.; Stelten, R. 2019
Archaeological excavations of an enslaved African domestic area at the Spring Bay Flat plantation on the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean, uncovered a small concentration of artefacts (shell, metal... Show moreArchaeological excavations of an enslaved African domestic area at the Spring Bay Flat plantation on the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean, uncovered a small concentration of artefacts (shell, metal nails, animal bones and five human teeth) overlaid with a lock hinge, interpreted as a lockbox and its contents. Dental anthropological and multi‐isotope (strontium, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen) analyses of the teeth revealed that they belonged to a single individual who originated from Africa and survived a period of pronounced nutritional stress as a juvenile. The results provide rare insights into the life history of an individual who probably experienced enslavement, (forced) migration from Africa and adaptation to plantation life in the colonial‐era Caribbean. Show less
This research strives to reveal how ideologies of race, class, and gender manifested in the the social, physical, and material landscapes of pre-emancipation colonial Saba, Dutch Caribbean. Race,... Show moreThis research strives to reveal how ideologies of race, class, and gender manifested in the the social, physical, and material landscapes of pre-emancipation colonial Saba, Dutch Caribbean. Race, class, and gender serve as facets and vectors for ideology. By viewing them as processes, their capacity to express such through their social and material environments inextricably tied to their particular temporal and spatial contexts. Through comparisons of the social and material environments of multiple, contemporaneous social contexts within Saba, common social and material vectors among these ideological facets can become apparent. In particular, this concerns: • How tensions between the “incomplete hegemony” of colonial authorities and plantation agriculture with Saban residents resulted in a dialectic between local landscapes, materiality, and ideologies of race, class, and gender. • Differentiating between slavery, free poverty, and low class in the archaeological record. • The dialectic between scale, locality, and perspective in defining and situating class and poverty. Show less
