An Archaeological Study Of The Red House Port Of Spain Trinidad And Tobago

Originally built in 1844 and rebuilt in 1907 after being gutted by fire during the 1903 water riots, the Red House has been the seat of Trinidad and Tobago's parliament for over one hundred years. As a result of archaeological discoveries made in the basement of theRed House in March-April 2013, the Office of the Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago hired Basil A. Reid and his archaeological crew of local and international scholars to undertake a detailed study of the site from July 2013 to January 2015.The archaeological data suggest that centuries before the Red House building was originally constructed, a relatively large native community (comprised of the Saladoid and their descendants) lived continuously at the site for over one thousand years. Featured in the volume are significant findings relating to the biological profiles, DNA, diet and subsistence, mobility, and ceramic technology of these precolonial natives.This work showcases a diverse collection of both precolonial and colonial-period artefacts; the role of the site's precolonial inhabitants as dynamic, self-reflexive history makers; and the colonial history of the Red House from earliest times to 1907. Finally, the volume explores the GIS Archaeological Information System that was developed for the project coupled with the specific heritage-management approaches that were utilized.The chapters in this collection are based on groundbreaking archaeological scholarship with a multidisciplinary approach, and as such the book will be of considerable interest to Caribbean archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, anthropologists, historians and heritage professionals. The book will also be of interest to general readers in the Caribbean and beyond, especially the people of Trinidad and Tobago.CONTRIBUTORS: Zara Ali, Patrick Degryse, Louise Dover, Makini Emmanuel, Lanya Fanovich, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Timothy Figol, Georgia L. Fox, Lovell Francis, Sade Grant, Corinne L. Hofman, Sarah Hosein, Neil Jaggassar, George D. Kamenov, John Krigbaum, Mary Malainey, Andrew Maurice, D. Andrew Merriwether, Patrisha L. Meyers, Bert Neyt, Basil A. Reid, Samuel Reyes, Mike G. Rutherford, John J. Schultz, Amit Seeram, Peter E. Siegel, Michel Shamoon-Pour,Krystal Singh, Michael Sutherland, J. Marla Toyne, Laura Van Voorhis, Gifford Waters, Brent WilsonBASIL A. REID is Professor of Archaeology, Department of History, the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. His publications include Archaeology and Geoinformatics: Case Studies from the Caribbean; Myths and Realities of Caribbean History; Caribbean Heritage; Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology; and The Archaeology of Caribbean and Circum-Caribbean Farmers 6000 BC-AD 1500.

Comprising 17 chapters and with a wide geographic reach stretching from the Florida Keys in the north to the Guianas in the south, this volume places a well-needed academic spotlight on what is generally considered an integral topic in Caribbean and circum-Caribbean archaeology. The book explores a variety of issues, including the introduction and dispersal of early cultivars, plant manipulation, animal domestication, dietary profiles, and landscape modifications. Tried-and-true and novel analytical techniques are used to tease out aspects of the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean database that inform the complex and often-subtle processes of domestication under varying socio-environmental conditions. Contributors discuss their findings within multiple constructs such as neolithisation, social interaction, trade, mobility, social complexity, migration, colonisation, and historical ecology. Multiple data sources are used which include but are not restricted to rock art, cooking pits and pots, stable isotopes, dental calculus and pathologies, starch grains, and proxies for past environmental conditions. Given its multi-disciplinary approaches, this volume should be of immense value to both researchers and students of Caribbean archaeology, biogeography, ethnobotany, zooarchaeology, historical ecology, agriculture, environmental studies, history, and other related fields.

What is the role of local Caribbean individuals and communities in creating and perpetuating archaeological heritage? How has archaeological knowledge been integrated into education plans in different countries? This book aims to fill a gap in both archaeological scholarship and popular knowledge by providing a platform for local Caribbean voices to speak about the archaeological heritage of their region. To achieve this, each chapter of the book focuses on identifying and developing strategies that academics, heritage practitioners, and non-scholars from the insular Caribbean can adopt to stimulate a necessary dialogue on how archaeological heritage is used and produced on various academic, political, and social levels. Contributors are: Zara Ali, Arlene Álvarez, Lisette Roura Alvarez, Irvince Nanichi Auguiste, Victoria Borg O’Flaherty, Lornadale L. Charles, Eldris Con Aguilar, Raymundo A.C.F. Dijkhoff, Matthieu Ecrabet, Kevin Farmer, Cameron Gill, Eduardo Herrera Malatesta, Katarina Jacobson, Joseph Sony Jean, Debra Kay Palmer, Harold Kelly, Wilhelm Londoño Díaz, Stacey Mac Donald, Jerry Michel, Ashleigh John Morris, Andrea Richards, Kara M. Roopsingh, Pierre Sainte-Luce, Tibisay Sankatsing Nava, and Laurent Christian Ursulet.

This volume provides an important entrée into the current thinking and rethinking on Caribbean heritage. Included are several topics that represent the rich plurality of the Caribbean experience, such as symbolism, popular culture, literature, linguistics, pedagogy, philanthropy, natural history, land tenure, townscapes, archaeology and museology. Given its multidisciplinary approach, Caribbean Heritage will have considerable appeal to a wide range of scholars such as folklorists, environmentalists, heritage professionals, linguists, librarians, cultural studies experts, historians, archaeologists, museologists, and students involved in heritage studies in the region and beyond. Co-published with the Reed Foundation, Inc.

This book highlights the variety of research conducted on the island's prehistoric site and artifacts. The text is a compilation of thirteen articles, five of which had been previously published but not widely available. The remaining eight new articles are based on archaeological research within the last five years. The book will appeal to a wide audience of archaeologists, historians, students of archaeology and anyone interested in Jamaica's history

Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology offers a comprehensive overview of the available archaeological research conducted in the region. Beginning with the earliest native migrations and moving through contemporary issues of heritage management, the contributors tackle the usual questions of colonization, adaptation, and evolution while embracing newer research techniques, such as geoinformatics, archaeometry, paleodemography, DNA analysis, and seafaring simulations. Entries are cross-referenced so that readers can efficiently access data on a variety of related topics. The introduction includes a survey of the various archaeological periods in the Caribbean, as well as a discussion of the region’s geography, climate, topography, and oceanography. It also offers an easy-to-read review of the historical archaeology, providing a better understanding of the cultural contexts of the Caribbean that resulted from the convergence of European, Native American, African, and then Asian settlers.

Traditionally a navigating and migratory people, Portuguese settlers came to the Caribbean as early as the seventeenth century. The ancestors of the modern Portuguese community in Trinidad and Tobago hailed from the archipelago of Madeira, fleeing their homeland in search of an economic and religious haven from the 1830s onwards. They came neither to explore nor to conquer, had no history of land and slave ownership in the Caribbean, and they came without prestigious family names or old money. Yet within a few generations, struggles were overcome to push the community to the forefront of national life, in the areas of business, politics, religion and culture. Bound by language and traditions, the Portuguese were able to work together for their common good, the result of which was a proliferation of Portuguese businesses of various sizes and descriptions all over the country. Though few in number, the Portuguese contribution to their adopted homeland is of a significance beyond the small size of the community. Every migrating group has a tale to tell. For years, the tale of the Madeirans in Trinidad and Tobago and Luso-Trinidadians and Tobagonians has gone untold. Here is an attempt to tell their story in the context of culture and entrepreneurship. --