History-Of-Saba-J.-Hartog.Pdf
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i ~ I i : ~ . I . j ' I - HIS~()Ry OF SABA by DR. J. HARTOG C~R 33!l~1 6~~· Saba, you rise from the Ocean, with mountains and hill-sides so steep ... PUBLISHED BY THE SABA ARTISAN FOUNDA TION SABA NETHERLANDS ANTILLES HIS~()Ry OF SABA by DR. J. HARTOG C~R 33!l~1 6~~· Saba, you rise from the Ocean, with mountains and hill-sides so steep ... PUBLISHED BY THE SABA ARTISAN FOUNDA TION SABA NETHERLANDS ANTILLES Indians dwelt on four sites The island of Saba in the Dutch Windward Islands of the Neth- erlands Antilles was first inhabited by Indians. At 2,296 feet above sea level there is a site known as Indian Camp which reminds us of this fact. In the last century arrowheads and spearheads were found there, and from the workmanship we can see that the makers were probably Caribs. Ist printing 1975 lid printing 1982 Busult adze found on Saba. This type of ornamented adze is foulld only in the • I'd printing 1988 Greater Antilles and the Bahamas, so it must have been brought to Saba. The adze is prese.rved in the State Museum of Ethnology in Leyden. The length is 73/4 inches (20 em). This edition has been financed by: Ovcrlegorgaan Kulturele Samenwerking Nederlandse Antillen (OKSNA), In 1858 a basalt adze was found on the island. The then gover- 'uragao. nor, Reinier F. C. van Lansberge, presented this to the Nether- lands Ethnological Museum of Leyden where it is still preserved. Translation by Frank Hassell. In 1923 Professor Dr. J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong did archeolo- over idea Elisabeth Hartog: An example of fine Saban drawn-thread work. gical research on Saba. By digging in the vicinity of the Anglican church in The Bottom, he discovered shards made of stone, coral, © Copyright 1975, 1982 and 1988 by dr. J. Hartog. earthenware or shells. Arso, at Spring Bay, St. Johns and Wind- All rights re ·erved. wardside Indian artifacts were found.Among other articles, stone objects, such as pestles, were discovered. We can therefore No parts of this book may be reproduced, translated, broadcast or digested . confirm that the Indians of Saba lived mainly in the places where in any form. the present villages are. The pottery found in The Bottom can b~ dated800-1,OOOA.D. ' ~_ Stone objects have generally been found withont 'fl9-X:U' age " worth mentioning. Regrettably, nothing made of earihenware or Beautiful specimen of Indian utensil found in Windwardside in 1972. Its length is 4 inches (10 cm); the weight is lib. 5 oz. (700 grams). shells has been recovered undamaged. The shards are generally so small that reconstruction is impossible. Beautiful specimen of Indian utensil found in Windwardside in 1972. Its length is 4 inches (10 cm); the weight is lib. 5 oz. (700 grams). shells has been recovered undamaged. The shards are generally so small that reconstruction is impossible. It. ('1111 I> ,'cen from the shell fragments that the Indians of Saba I IIld<l lI1ul • most kinds of household tools such as ornaments, chi- 111111 111(1 hatchets. They also knew how to make use of fish bones /llId ('rllb pincers. Some objects were more or less finished in detail 1IIId ililloothly polished. Other objects show scarcely any trace of IiltiHhing. LEFT:Often the surface finishing of earthenware consists of a large number of narrow furrows scratched or pressed in and running in different directions. RIGHT: Beautiful example of scratched geometrical decorations: a flat circular piece of pottery with imprinted concentric triangles and a circle in the center. Earthenware The earthenware is crude, badly fired (sometimes still drab col- ored or gray on the inside), and therefore, brittle. The most com- mon pattern is one of white bands on a red background. Red and white were the most frequently used colors, but yellow and dark brown were found also. Professor de Josselin de Jong also did archeological research on LEFT: Shard showing the coarse structure of Indian earthenware. St. Eustatius. Comparing what he found on St. Eustatius and on RIGHT:Frequently occurring type of decoration: lines, scratched or pressed in. Saba, there were obvious differences so that it would appear that the pottery was made on each island individually. Similarities, hoW- ever, point to an interrelationship of the two islands and also with other neighboring islands such as the Virgin Islands. Red was more frequently used on St. Eustatius than on Saba, and it is also obvious that the decorative pattern of the St. Eustatius pottery was somewhat more elaborate. On the whole, however, the work- manship is primitive and crude, showing little finesse. LEFT: Another type of decoration: gullies. This type is very common on Saba, but does not occur on St. Eustatius. RIGHT: Third type of decoration: white band figures on a red ground. The photographs on this and the following pages are reproduced with permission from Archeological Material from Saba and St. Eustatius, by prof. dr. J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden The Indians had a great skill in shell technique. Both domestic utensils and orna- 1947. All objects are to be found in the Museum. The pottery, found in Saba, can be ments were made of shell.The greater part of the implements shown here are dated between 800 and 1000 A.D. celts or chisels, recognizable by the ARTIFICIALLY sharpened end. It. ('1111 I> ,'cen from the shell fragments that the Indians of Saba I IIld<l lI1ul • most kinds of household tools such as ornaments, chi- 111111 111(1 hatchets. They also knew how to make use of fish bones /llId ('rllb pincers. Some objects were more or less finished in detail 1IIId ililloothly polished. Other objects show scarcely any trace of IiltiHhing. LEFT:Often the surface finishing of earthenware consists of a large number of narrow furrows scratched or pressed in and running in different directions. RIGHT: Beautiful example of scratched geometrical decorations: a flat circular piece of pottery with imprinted concentric triangles and a circle in the center. Earthenware The earthenware is crude, badly fired (sometimes still drab col- ored or gray on the inside), and therefore, brittle. The most com- mon pattern is one of white bands on a red background. Red and white were the most frequently used colors, but yellow and dark brown were found also. Professor de Josselin de Jong also did archeological research on LEFT: Shard showing the coarse structure of Indian earthenware. St. Eustatius. Comparing what he found on St. Eustatius and on RIGHT:Frequently occurring type of decoration: lines, scratched or pressed in. Saba, there were obvious differences so that it would appear that the pottery was made on each island individually. Similarities, hoW- ever, point to an interrelationship of the two islands and also with other neighboring islands such as the Virgin Islands. Red was more frequently used on St. Eustatius than on Saba, and it is also obvious that the decorative pattern of the St. Eustatius pottery was somewhat more elaborate. On the whole, however, the work- manship is primitive and crude, showing little finesse. LEFT: Another type of decoration: gullies. This type is very common on Saba, but does not occur on St. Eustatius. RIGHT: Third type of decoration: white band figures on a red ground. The photographs on this and the following pages are reproduced with permission from Archeological Material from Saba and St. Eustatius, by prof. dr. J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden The Indians had a great skill in shell technique. Both domestic utensils and orna- 1947. All objects are to be found in the Museum. The pottery, found in Saba, can be ments were made of shell.The greater part of the implements shown here are dated between 800 and 1000 A.D. celts or chisels, recognizable by the ARTIFICIALLY sharpened end. No permanent Indian population There are three springs on ~aba: one at Spring Bay, one at Fort Bay, and a warm water spring (570 C, but undrinkable) at Ladder Spindle whorls found in Point. All in all, the island, as it was found in a natural state by the The Bottom. These fired pieces Indians, would not have encouraged a large and permanent Indian were not painted. population. In 1509the Spaniards began the colonization of Puerto Rico with the result that one third of the Indians living there at the Only Caribs time moved to smaller islands in the neighborhood, perhaps also to The shell fragments and earthenware shards found on Saba Saba. show no development that would point to the presence of other In- Around 1640,when the Dutch landed on Saba, the island was un- dian cultures. Present archeological research indicates that Caribs inhabited. ' were the only Indians to have lived ,on Saba. The successive in- habitation of the island by other Indian culttlres would have been evidenced by their artifacts. and these have not been found. LEFT: Pestle found in 1972 in Windwardside. Length, 5 inches (121/4 em); weif(ht, Whole artifacts of pottery have not been found on Saba. Most of the material is in- lib. 3 oz. (538 grams). sufficient for reconstruction. However, Professor de Josselin de Jong succeeded in RIGHT: Another pestle recently found in Windwardside. Length, 7 inches; reconstructing these beautiful examples of a shallow dish and a cup (next page). (171/2 em), weight, 4lbs. 6 oz. (1,800 grams). No permanent Indian population There are three springs on ~aba: one at Spring Bay, one at Fort Bay, and a warm water spring (570 C, but undrinkable) at Ladder Spindle whorls found in Point.