PRELIMINARY WORK FROM THE MCKAY SITE ON CROOKED ISLAND

John Winter

The earliest archaeological fieldwork in the Bahamas was primarily site reconnaissance and surface collection (Booy, 1912; Krieger, 1937; Rainey, 1934; Goggin, 1939; Granberry, 1957; MacLaury, 1970). Froelich G. Rainey (1934: 20-26), while doing his reconnaissance on Crooked Island, excavated a cave site at Gordon Hill. The material from this site has been classified as having Meillac-like and Carrier-like traits (Granberry, 1955). The first extensive site report is the Pal­ metto Grove site on San Salvador, which was done by Charles A. Hoffman, Jr. (1967). Two sites are presently under excavation in the Bahamas. Marjorie Pratt (1974) is working at the Pigeon Creek site on San Salvador, while the author is working at the McKay site on Crooked Island. The McKay site was discovered in January, 1976 by the author, while carry­ ing out a site reconnaissance of the island. The McKay site is located on the north coast of Crooked Island (74 10' W - 22 45' N), just north of the old McKay settlement. The site is situated between a sheltered cove, 113 feet to the west, a limestone ridge, 352 feet to the north, and the open sea, 180 feet to the east (figure 1), and is on land owned by Mr. Basil T. Kelly of Nassau, New Providence. The site is covered with native brush consisting of love-vine (Cuscuta americana), bay geranium (Ambrosia hispida), cerasee (Momordica charantia), seaside morning- glory bay hop (Ipomoea pescaprae), prickly pear (Opuntia coccinellifera), aloe (Aloe barbadensis), small cane grass (Lasiacis divaricata), and sea grape (Coco- lobis uvifera) (Russell, 1976). This report will be based on the preliminary archaeological material from the McKay site. As of January, 1977, nineteen, one meter by two meters, pits have been excavated, all at arbitrary 10 cm levels. All the archaeological material is located between 29.2 cm and 38.1 cm. The soil above and including the archaeo­ logical material is a brown color, while the soil below the archeological material is a sterile pink-white & yellow coral sand. The earth from the excavation has been screened through a .25 inch wire mesh. To date, the site has yielded a variety of prehistoric cultural remains, from whole conch shells (Strombus gigas), to pottery sherds, to a small unfinished gray-white quartz bead. A hearth was located within the site and within it were numerous limestone fragments. This could be a cooking hearth as described by Las Casas (1967:64). The remainder of this paper will deal with a brief analysis of the pottery types excavated from the McKay site and the possible bearing they have on Bahamian prehistory. The McKay site has yielded 608 pot sherds. The majority of the sherds, 603, are considered native to the Bahamas, in that they are characterized by a smooth, sometimes, polished surface and tempered with crushed shell. Seventeen of the 603 sherds have a red-slip, which is firmly united to the body paste indicat­ ing that it was applied before firing (Granberry 1955:204). The color of the paste varies from a red, to red-orange, to red-brown, to black, to gray. This color variation is the result of using the Bahamas black loam or the Bahamas red loam as the base for the paste (Shattuck 1905: 165). This however, is not the sole reason for the color variation. Color vatiation appears to be brought about by the oxidizing of the paste upon exposure to heat (Granberry 1955: 211). Some 238 PRELIMINARY WORK FROM THE McKAY SITE

of these color variations are due to improper heat distribution throughout the vessel during firing, while others are caused by their constant use as cooking vessels. Cross-sections of sherds reveal a variety of colors. Usually, the out­ er surface is darker in color, while the inner surface or any section removed from direct heat is lighter in color. The shell tempered sherds vary in thickness from 5mm to 14mm, however the majority, 584, are between 9mm to 12mm. No decorated sherds have been found as yet. Five sherds were found which do not appear to be Bahamian in origin and are probably tradeware. Three sherds are black in color and grit tempered with medium sized inclusions of quartz. They are 5mm to 7mm thick. Two sherds have incised decorations on the shoulders. The remaining two are light brown in color and grit tempered with medium sized inclusions of quartz. They vary from 8mm to 11mm thick. The majority of the sherds, 537, are either body or shoulder sherds, whili the remainder are rims of vessels and griddles. Several sherds were able to be reconstructed to yield partial vessels. All reconstructed vessels were from the shell-tempered sherds. One half of a boat-shaped vessel and three circular ves­ sels, each being a quarter of the original size, were reconstructed in an effort to determine the size of the vessels. The boat-shaped vessel was approximately 25.4 cm wide, 30.5 cm long, and 6.9 cm deep, and had a peaked rim at each end. Two of the circular vessels were both 7.3 cm deep, with diameters of 48.2 cm and 53.4 cm. The third circular vessel was 5.6 cm deep and 28.6 cm in diameter. A third of a griddle section was uncovered and when reconstructed was approximately 45.7 cm in diameter. Based on the size of these utilitarian wares, it might be proposed that the population was sedentary in nature (Meggers 1972: 35). It is interesting to note that in reconstructing two of the circular ves­ sels, that the rim types varied within each vessel (figure 2). From Granberry's (1955) discussions of ceramic typology for the Bahamas, I assumed that different rim formations would probably constitute different vessels. This meant that a careful analysis of rim sherds would have to be carried out before determining the number of vessels from the site. The non-native pottery sherds (figures 3a, 3b, and 3c) from the McKay siti are typical of the Meillacoid and Chicoid styles of Haiti (figure 3a, 3c, and 3b respectively), and may in fact have been brought into the Bahamas from Haiti. Tw< of these sherds are from circular vessels (figure 3a and 3b), while the third (figure 3c) is the rim of a water container, similar to what Rouse (1941: 57) re­ ports for Haiti. The finding of these tradewares tends to support Rouse's (1964: 509-510) theory regarding the migration patterns for the West Indies. Analysis of the she11-tempered sherds from the McKay site reveal evidence of Meillacoid and Chicoid traits. The boat-shaped vessel with the peaked rim and the sherds bearing the red-slip are evidence of Meillacoid traits (Figueredo 1977 Three sherds bear the identical rim and shoulder formation of the Chicoid sherd fr indicate a Chicoid trait (figure 4). These finds appear to be a good indicator for the co-existence of the two styles, since all the material is found within th same levels at the McKay site. Whether this co-existence is the result of a physical migration is yet unknown. Three samples from the McKay site were sent to the University of Georgia Geochronology Laboratory for radiocarbon analysis. A conch shell (Strombus gigas yielded a date of A.D. 1240±65 (UGa-1262). .Various species of fish bone yielded a date of A.D. 1740180 (UGa-1583). Charcoal from the cooking hearth yielded a JOHN WINTER 239

date of A.D. 1260175 (UGa-1584). The difference between the fish bone data and the other two dates was probably caused by a mixed sample of fish bones. Also, Alfredo Figueredo (1977) stated that fish bone, in general, tends to give a poor C-14 result. There are now two reported sites for a co-existence of Meillacoid and Chicoid traits on Crooked Island, the Gordon Hill site and the McKay site. From the preliminary material at the McKay site, it would appear that the Bahamas was under Chicoid influence by A.D. 1250. Whether this influence was by way of the windward passage of Hispaniola or through the Turks and Caicos is yet unknown. It is hoped that further excavation of the McKay site will yield more information into the prehistoric sequences of the Bahamas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOY, Theodoor de, 1912, Lucayan Remains on the Caicos Islands. American Anthro­ pologist, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 81-105.

FIGUEREDO, Alfredo E., 1977, personal communication.

GOGGIN, J.M., 1939, An Anthropological Reconnaisance of Andros Island, Bahamas. American Antiquity, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 21-26.

GRANBERRY, Julian, 1955, A Survey of Bahamian Archeology. Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville.

GRANBERRY, Julian, 1957, An Anthropological Reconnaisance of Bimini, Bahamas. American Antiquity, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 378-81.

HOFFMAN, Charles A., Jr., 1967, Bahama Prehistory; Cultural Adaption to an Is­ land Environment. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthro­ pology, University of Arizona, Tucson.

KRIEGER, Herbert W., 1937, The Bahama Islands and their Prehistoric Population. Explorations and Field Work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1936, pp. 93-98.

LAS CASAS, Fray Bartolomé de, 1967, Apologética Historia Sumaria. Edited by Ed­ mundo O'Gorman. Mexico: Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Instituto de Investigaciones Historias, 2 volumes.

MACLAURY, James C., 1970, Archaeological Investigations on Cat Island, Bahamas. Contributions of the Florida State Museum, Social Sciences #16, pp. 27- 48. Gainesville.

MEGGERS, Betty J., 1972, Prehistoric America. Aldine-Atherton Inc.: Chicago. 240 PRELIMINARY WORK FROM THE McKAY SITE

PRATT, Marjorie K., 1974, Preliminary Report-1974, Prehistoric Archaeology. Island Environmental Studies, College Center of the Finger Lakes Publications, Corning, New York.

RAINEY, Froelich G., 1934, Diary Beginning January 22, 1934, upon arrival in Port au Prince, Haiti. MS, Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven.

ROUSE, Irving, 1941, Culture of the Ft. Liberte Region, Haiti. Yale University Publications in Anthropology, //24, New Haven.

ROUSE, Irving, 1964, Prehistory of the West Indies. Science, vol. 144, no. 3618, pp. 499-513.

RUSSELL, Oris S., (former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Nassau, Bahamas), 1976, personal communication.

SHATTUCK, George B., 1905, The Bahama Islands. Geographical Society of Baltimore, MacMillan: New York. JOHN WINTER 241

74 10'00" W

Atlantic Ocean

22°45' N

McKay * 1 settlement

miles

FIGURE 1

vessel //l vessel y/2

FIGURE 2 242 PRELIMINARY WORK FROM THE McKAY SITE

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FIGURE 3.a FIGURE 3.b

FIGURE 3.c ,1 FIGURE 4