The Archaeology of Maroon Societies in the Americas
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TERRY WElK Africa, or in political ideology, i.e., Pan- Africanism (Thompson 1989:2-5; Gilroy 1993:6, The Archaeology of Maroon 17). At the same time, a Diaspora perspective illuminates the cultural, geographical, and histori- Societies in the Americas: cal dimensions that distinguish people of African Resistance, Cultural Continuity, descent. and Transformation in the The archaeology of marronage reflects the wide scope of the African Diaspora in the African Diaspora Americas, which spans two continents and the Caribbean. The following discussion is centered ABSTRACT on archaeological investigations of Maroon sites at Palmares (Brazil); jose Leta (Dominican Re- Archaeology has been initiated in Maroon sites in various public); Pilaklikaha and Fort mose florida parts of the African Diaspora in the Americas. Data from Nannytown, Accompong and the seamans Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Florida, and North ley (Jamaica); and Culpepper Island (North Caro- Carolina were surveyed in order to examine the directions that studies of Maroon societies have taken. An assessment lina) Arrom and Garcia Arevalo 1986; is in order so that future studies can he planned with 1988; Marron 1989; Agorsah 1994; Herron cognizance of the problems and possibilities that current 1994:70; Deagan and MacMahon 1995: 13-15; research has uncovered. Approaches, theories, and archaeo- Orser 1992). Other sites which deserve mention logical evidence are analyzed and critiqued, and placed within are those of Ambrosio, in Minas Gerais (Brazil), the context of African Diaspora archaeology. The archae- ology of Maroon sites is a rich and virtually untapped area and the cave sites located near Havana, Cuba of study. The archaeological study of Maroon sites will Arrom and Garcia Arevalo 1986:50; Guimaraes advance our knowledge of Africans in the Americas by 1990:161-174). As migrants, slaves, and exiles, fostering new perspectives on traditional concepts such as Africans have traversed the Atlantic in two di- ethnicity, resistance, cultural contact, and culture continuity rections. In light of this fact, archaeology may and change. one day uncover valuable information on the Introduction Trelawney Town Maroons, who were deported to Nova Scotia and then to Sierra Leone after Maroons are peoples of the African Diaspora the second Maroon War in 1796 (Campbell who escaped from enslavement and lived inde- 1993). pendently of plantation societies in the Americas (Price 1979: 1-2; Hart 1985: 1-5). Examining Maroons: A Definition marronage, the formation of Maroons, in an African Diaspora perspective is an important The English word, “Maroon,” like the French means of adding to the discourse on African word marronage, has been credited to the Span- agency beyond the African continent. ish term cimarron which originally referred to “Diaspora,” a Greek word meaning “to disperse” escaped cattle or hogs which ran to the moun- or “spread,” originally referred to the global dis- tains (Price 1979:l-2; Arrom and Garcia Arevalo persal of Jewish peoples (Tololyan 1996). It has 1986:15-17). In the Spanish colonies, Maroon been adopted by researchers studying the African settlements were referred to as palenques, or Diaspora because people of African descent have mambises in Cuba (Price 1979:l). In Brazilian experienced a similar history of migration- historiography, a Maroon community is called forced and voluntary, enslavement, and persecu- a quilombo, a magote, or a mocambo schwartz tion in various parts of the world (Shepperson 1979:205). 1976:4, 1982:51; Harris 1982:5-8; Thompson Marronage, like rebellion, occurred wherever 1989). African Diaspora denotes shared experi- slavery existed (Craton 1982:23; Genovese ences, whether in oppression, in cultural ties to 1979:2-3). A distinction is made between two Historical Archaeology, 1997, 31(2), 81-92. Permission to reprint required. 82 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 31(2) types of Maroon activity, petit marronage and 18th century to the 1990s (Price 1990; Agorsah grand marronage. Petit marronage refers to 1994). short-term escape of enslaved people. Grand In general, Maroon enclaves were formed in marronage refers to long-term or permanent inaccessible or marginal areas. The right kinds escape with the intent of living in autonomous of environments were necessary for successful communities (Price 1979:3). Enslaved Africans flight and marronage: black Seminoles found escaped for a variety of reasons: to avoid refuge in central Florida’s swamps; Saramaka forced labor, to heal from the wounds inflicted Maroons thrived in the forests and riverbanks of by abusive overseers, to find food, to visit fam- Surinam; Brazilian, Cuban, and Jamaican Maroon ily members such as spouses or relatives on communities could not have enjoyed longevity other plantations, or to interact with friends or without the formidable mountains and densely potential mates (in many places the male to fe- vegetated hills on which they settled (Price male ratio was quite high during slavery) (Kent 1979:5; Schwartz 1992:105). The environment 1979:179; Price 1979:l-5; Reis 1993:21-40). In was also important for subsistence needs. Bra- addition, the desire for freedom of cultural ex- zilian quilombos produced many crops through pression such as religious worship led some en- horticulture, such as manioc, tobacco, cotton, slaved peoples to flee temporarily or permanently bananas, corn, pineapples, and sweet potatoes (Reis 1993). (Schwartz 1992: 115). Honey, beeswax, and As anthropologist Richard Price (1979:4) dem- game were acquired by Maroons from the forests onstrates in Maroon Societies, marronage var- of Cuba Perez De La Riva 197953). ied in time, space, and character throughout the A number of Maroons, such as the Americas. Small Maroon sites, such as jose palenqueros of Cuba, went through two stages Leta in the Dominican Republic and Pilaklikaha of development. First there was a nomadic in Florida, ranged from five or less to around stage. If they found a defensible location, Ma- 100 inhabitants. Larger Maroon sites such as roons moved to a second stage of development, Nannytown and Accompong, in Jamaica, and a sedentary lifestyle Perez De La Riva Culpepper Island, NC, had hundreds of Maroons 1979:49). In many cases Maroons set up forti- (Littlefield 1977:9; Arrom and Garcia arevalo fied palenques. Maroons were not isolated, nor 1986:49-50; Campbell 1990: 164-194). were they merely concerned with escape, for Palmares, in Brazil, was at the extreme end of they raided colonial settlements and plan- the size range, with estimates suggesting 5,000 tations for commodities and new recruits to 20,000 people (Carneiro 1966:66; Schwartz (Price 1979: 12-13; Schwartz 1992: 108-109; 19921106-107, 117-118). Schweninger 1992: 116-120). They traded crops As with size, duration of occupation varied and forest products with pirates and European for Maroon settlements in different periods and traders in exchange for weapons or tools (Parris places. Historical documents suggest that most 1983). As Maroons were a threat to the obedi- Maroon settlements were short-lived. For in- ent attitudes that slaveowners demanded of their stance, historian Raymond Kent (1979) affirmed slaves, colonists reacted by attempting to destroy that seven out of 10 of the largest quilombos in them. If military confrontation failed, colonists Brazil were destroyed within two years of for- signed treaties with Maroons (Kopytoff 1979; mation. However, Palmares proved to be an Price 1979:4; Schwartz 1992:112). Some Euro- exception, lasting 100 years (Kent 1979). In co- peans tried to undermine each other by forming lonial Florida, “black Seminole” sites such as trade and military alliances with Maroons, “Abraham’s Old Town,” lasted several decades thereby instigating Maroon raiding parties to (Herron 1994). By contrast, Maroon settlements destroy the commerce of their colonial rivals. in Jamaica and Surinam have lasted from the Preoccupied by fighting and competing for land THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF MAROON SOCIETIES IN THE AMERICAS 83 and resources in strategically located areas, Eu- Archaeology and the African Diaspora ropean forces sometimes neglected checking the growth of the Maroons (Parris 1983; Mulroy Plantations have been the focus of most his- 1993:9-10). The disorder caused by European torical archaeology of the African Diaspora rivalries probably facilitated escape for many (Singleton 1985:2). Most plantation studies have enslaved people, for the planters could not con- been conducted in North America, where social- trol any considerable number of people without political movements of the 1960s and federal a stable and united effort among European mi- legislation helped to convince archaeologists to litia and patrols. In sum, the history of study early African Americans (Fairbanks marronage demonstrates the pervasiveness of the 1984:l-2). Charles Orser (1991:51), who has Maroons in a wide variety of places throughout done research on plantation and Maroon archae- the Americas. Their ability to undermine plan- ology, has observed that historians and anthro- tation societies makes Maroons all the more pologists have given disproportionate attention to worthy of continued investigation. the master/slave relationship. This overemphasis has been noted by others, and archaeological Historical and Archaeological Analyses investigation of colonial-period free blacks and postbellum-period black communities have been Historical and archaeological analyses have offered as alternative avenues of research been based