Discussion
Since 2008, the St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research has been
excavating the Free Black Village on St. Eustatius, and has produced over 17,000
catalogued artifacts over approximately 180 square meters of excavated land. In this
study, the investigators focused in on a site containing two structures and a mound
feature. All recovered artifacts pertaining specifically to this study (see Appendix II)
were taken from excavation of postholes/moulds and wall features of these two buildings
and the mound feature.
On this site, a disproportionate number of artifacts were found in posthole/mould
features or in wall-related units, whereas the areas between the walls or buildings’
borders contained far fewer artifacts. This brings up a historical point of relevance;
generally, this pattern of finding artifacts near walls is common on black sites in Africa
and in the New World. According to R. Grant Gilmore III as noted by interview in April
2010, these involve a general tradition of sweeping and cleanliness that had been
preserved in many black communities from Africa to the New World.
With this observation in mind, the investigators decided to excavate units
associated with walls or borders of buildings, along with the mound feature. The
completed excavations have revealed several pertinent Africanisms on this site, as well as
evidence pointing to an integration of European culture into the lifeways of the St.
Eustatius freed blacks. Any of these identified African cultural traits, however, could also
be seen as simply an economy-driven act to conserve or exploit available resources. We
must keep in mind that no single artifact, remnant, or finding can signify an African
culture transplant; only all these factors taken together can point to such a transplant.
As mentioned earlier, a great majority of the site’s artifacts were recovered in
units that include wall features, indicating a tendency towards cleanliness and sweeping
that is seldom seen on European sites in the New World but is very common on black
sites in the New World as well as in Africa.
Next, there are several tendencies towards African culture which, like the
Africanisms at the Parting Ways site, could just as well be interpreted as economically-
driven choices. On this site, these relative Africanisms (or lack thereof) point towards a
much more economically-driven rather than culturally-driven mindset in the inhabitants
of this free black village. Blue beads, a type of jewelry which seems to have an African
cultural significance in the New World, are found in high abundance during excavations
on the island of St. Eustatius, but only 5 blue beads were found altogether on the free
black site. In comparison, over 200 blue beads were found at the Dunkirk house
excavation, a site of similar size and depth (Gilmore 2004). Instead of purchasing cheap,
fanciful blue beads, the inhabitants of this free black village spent their money on tinenamel ware and other fine kitchenwares to replace the lower quality Afro-Caribbean
ware (39 refined wares found as opposed to 21 Afro-Caribbean and unrefined wares in
this excavation – see table 1.1), as well as more expensive and higher quality coal pots
that could cook over burning coals. The lack of any ash or burnt remains underground
indicates that coal was used and burnt all the way through for cooking. The preference of
tin-enamel ware and coal-burning pots to the more traditional Afro-Caribbean ware and
blue beads indicates a choice of health, welfare, and practicality over cultural
preservation and tradition. However, such European cultural integration is seen in the
archaeological record of all free black sites we’ve examined, and as it is natural that a
people should look after their survival-related economic incentives before they make any
effort to preserve their traditions, a tendency towards a practical money-saving lifestyle
should be expected in these sites. However, maroon sites often exhibited , such as the
hearth found at , the caves at Maniel de Jose Leta, and the organizational structure of the
buildings at Palmares. Legally freed sites, on the other hand, show little more compelling
evidence than a ratio of Afro-Caribbean ware to European or Native wares that is often
lower than that on maroon sites.
However, as St. Eustatius is the most extensive excavation to date of any legally
freed black community in the New World, we have unearthed a feature never before seen
on any free black site in the New World, which may well represent a new Africanism.
The excavated mound feature (see figures 1.6-1.8, table 1.3) was mainly made up of
intact bricks stacked around a central circle, likely the spot a dead tree. The mound
feature contained several fully intact glass bottles and refined as well as unrefined
pottery, and those that were not totally intact had pieces recovered very near each other,
indicating that they were probably left intact and then crushed by soil covering. It also
contained gold, which strongly indicates a tributary function for this mound, because gold
was not likely to be left lying around without a significant reason. PhD archaeologist and
head of SECAR, R. Grant Gilmore III, revealed a wealth of mentioned information
regarding bottle trees in African culture. Trees could hold a highly spiritual significance
in many West and Central African cultures, and tributes to trees are not uncommon in
African archaeology. It is possible that this feature was somehow connected to the famed
African bottle tree, which supposedly protected the home from evil spirits by trapping
them inside the bottles on the ends of the tree’s branches. Whatever the connection, this
feature was clearly significant enough for the inhabitants to leave gold and intact fine
pottery and bottles nearby, indicating a spiritual presence within the free black site and a
possible relation to African culture, reminiscent of the culturally and spiritually
significant bottle arrangements found in caves near the Maniel de Jose Leta free black
site on Hispaniola.
At this point in our research, there is no steadfast claim as to whether or not St.
Eustatius has a very strong or a very weak presence of African culture, but the significant
amount of potential Africanisms in this site challenges the initial hypothesis that maroon
sites exhibit drastically greater and more durable shows of African culture compared to
legally freed black settlements. That is why this study calls for further excavation of the
free black site on St. Eustatius – this site has the potential to show the same resilience in
legally freed black sites as in the preservation of African culture on maroon sites, leading
to a more comprehensive theory on the general cultural resiliency of the African
population in the New World. In addition, this freed black site offers a highly unique
opportunity rarely seen on any archaeological site anywhere the world: the opportunity to
excavate an entire village. As development naturally occurs on top of previous
development, most historically relevant villages and sites lay underneath highly
developed urban sprawl. This free black site lay on privately owned property where the
St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research has written permission to excavate. This
private property is totally undeveloped save one 15*40 foot storage house. A full
excavation of this free black village would be the first full excavation of its kind, and
would reveal more about the lives of free blacks in the New World than any other
excavation has in the past or perhaps will in the future.
The St. Eustatius site is a gem for the study of free blacks in the New World
because it offers an opportunity to see freed blacks display African culture despite a very
strong and influential (read ‘wealthy’) European cultural influence. Because St. Eustatius
was such a bustling trade-center, especially for the slave trade, many of the freed blacks
purchased their freedom rather than simply being manumitted or granted their freedom,
as was dominant in the other legally freed sites. The purchase of their freedom perhaps
gave the freed blacks a different ideological perspective on their free state and maybe
even a different view of life as a freedman, and this may very well have led to different
perspectives on the importance of African cultural preservation or the attachment to
African tradition. The isolated site lying on the outskirts of one of the Europe’s foremost
centers of trade, offers us an opportunity to see African culture evolve in incredibly
diverse and dynamic surroundings, and could reveal great truths about the structure and
lifestyles of freed blacks in the New World.