Day 9: A Picture of the Past (by Tyler)

Waking up in Jamaica each day never gets old. Starting our third full day of work, I am excited to go out to my work site and resume where we left off in our project. I am a part of the archaeology group and other than the inconsistent weather (who knows if it will be raining or not), I have no complaints. Heading out to Spanish Hill to work on archaeology is a pretty exciting day to me. While we may not have such a personal connection with the Falmouthians like the film and restoration groups do, we are able to get a deeper understanding of the land itself by literally digging up pieces of the past. Once we get out there in the morning, we consult with Dr. Conolley about where we are going to begin digging our shovel test pits (STPs) for the day. We use a long measuring tape and string to measure out increments of 10 meters and place a flag at each point so we know where to come back to. At each of these points, we measure a circle in a diameter of 50 centimeters and dig a hole accordingly - these holes are the STPs. The site of Spanish Hill where we are working, was home to a Taino settlement, Tainos being the first inhabitants of the island, and the STPs are our way of finding out the perimeter of where they were living exactly. Digging these holes may be tedious work, but it is rewarding. We are constantly finding an assortment of shells, pottery, bones, chert, and other stone pieces that may have been used as tools by the Taino. All of the things that we find are unique in their own way because they help to piece together the story of the area, discovering details like where the chief lived, or how large each house was. Today in particular, we found a large supply of charcoal in one of the spots we were working and were able to infer that said spot may have been where they made campfires. Another interesting thing we have come to learn is that the shells we find are a mix between shells from terrestrial animals such as snails, which were used for jewelry, and aquatic creatures like clams and mussels, which were more likely to have been eaten. We also learn how to label the bags to store all of the artifacts that we find, writing important details such as the name of the site, the date, and the contents of the bag. This is basically the final step in the process of our job at the site. Digging up these artifacts helps to paint a picture of the past, allowing us to uncover pieces of Taino lifestyle in this specific settlement that may be crucial to understanding the Taino lifestyle. Without discovering all of the shells we have found, we may not have realized the value of jewelry and decoration to them and the culture they share. Knowing how much history lies beneath my feet at any given time during the day, has given me a new perspective, as well as a yearning for going back tomorrow morning.