heritage Article Haitian Archaeological Heritage: Understanding Its Loss and Paths to Future Preservation Joseph Sony Jean 1,* , Marc Joseph 2, Camille Louis 2 and Jerry Michel 3,4 1 Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Reuvensplaats 2, 2311 BE Leiden, The Netherlands 2 Department of Anthropology, University California Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA;
[email protected] (M.J.);
[email protected] (C.L.) 3 Department of Sociology, Université d’Etat d’Haïti, 21, rue Rivière, Port-au-Prince HT6112, Haiti;
[email protected] 4 Department of Sociology, Université Paris 8, 2 rue de la Liberté, Saint-Denis 93526 Paris, France * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 14 June 2020; Accepted: 7 July 2020; Published: 11 July 2020 Abstract: Haitian archaeological heritage is expressed through multiple traces of Amerindian cultures, enslaved African legacies, ruins of old colonial plantations and fortresses, and post-Haitian independence. Despite the existence of legal institutions engaged in the protection of this heritage, Haitian archaeological sites are becoming more threatened because of looting, appropriation of spaces, and lands management, as well as natural hazards. This paper aims to explore the current state of archaeological heritage with the broader context of the politics of heritage in Haiti. We analyzed the conditions of archaeological sites from the northern region and addressed their place in official heritage practices. The results of this study revealed that most of the archaeological sites that reflect the complexity of Haitian history are not given much attention in the politics of heritage that prioritize the nationalistic and emblematic character of historic traces.