The Search for La Navidad in a Contact Period Town on 's North Coast

Kathleen Deagan

Since 1983 the Florida State Museum has been conducting archaeological investigations at the site of En Bas Saline, near Cap Haitien, Haiti. This contact period Arawak site is believed to have been the town of the cassique Guacanacaric, who assisted after the wreck of the Santa María, and who provided, for a time, a sanctuary for the 40 men left by Columbus to construct and made the first European settlement in the New World, that of La Navidad.

The work is being carried out through the sponsorship of the Government of Haiti (Institut National Haitien de la Culture et des Arts), the Organization of American States, the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of Florida's Center for Early Contact Studies. The project is being done cooperatively with Dr. William Hodges of the Hospital Le Bon Samaritain and Museum de Guahaba in Limbe, Haiti, who first discovered and tested the site.

The project itself has several objectives in addition to the location of La Navidad. The first, for obvious reasons, is to achieve a detailed understanding of the size, structure and physical organization of the entire site. Another important objective is the documentation of the material patterns, the subsistence strategies, the nature of intra-site variability and the spatial organization of the late 15th century Indian of this region on the eve of European contact, and therefore on the eve of their destruction. The processes of cultural disintegration through intercultural stress can be studied and documented here, since there is a late pre-contact component, as well as a very early contact period occupation. As excavations continue, they will be organized to test hypotheses concerning overall population decline, subsistence shifts, demographic and social reorganization and the breakdown of traditional material culture patterns as a result of disease and other European influences.

Because the search for La Navidad itself is still underway at this moment, I would like to first review the evidence for its location at En Bas Saline, and concentrate more specifically upon the data relating to the site's chronology and structure.

La Navidad and Guacanacaric's Town

The story of the wreck of Columbus' caravel, the Santa María, on Christmas eve of 1492 is undoubtedly familiar to this audience, and I will consider it here only briefly. The available

453 The Search for La Navidad in a Contact Period Arawak Town documentary sources bearing upon the disaster and the subsequent settlement of La Navidad are well known (Oviedo's version of the Columbus log [Jane, 1960; Major, 1961]; Columbus' 1493 letter to the Catholic Kings [Major, 1961]; the account of Andres Bernaldez [Jane, 1930]; Ferdinand Columbus' biography of his father [Keen, 1959], and Dr. Chancra's letter of the second voyage [Major, 1961]), and they all indicate in general that after the ship ran aground, much of the Santa Maria was dismantled. With the assistance of the Arawak cassique Guacanacaric, the timbers of the vessel were used to fortify one or two large structures in the Indian town he ruled, which was reported to be about 1.5 leagues distant from the wreck site (Morrison, 1940: 250). Guacanacaric provided two of his largest and best building for the use of the Christians, suggesting that the fortress lies within the Indian town itself. Within the space of a week, a suitable fort was completed, including a tower and a moat (Jane, 1960: 126). Other accounts suggest that a well for water and a palisade may also have been constructed (Major, 1961: 47; Jane, 1930: 322). This tiny fortified settlement was named La Navidad, and thirty nine men were left there with food and supplies for a year and instructions to trade with the Indians for gold. Columbus returned to La Navidad eleven months later, only to find the settlement and surrounding Indian town burned, all of the men dead, and the supplies dispersed among the Indians over a distance of several kilometers (Major, 1961: 50). Various accounts indicate that his men died as a result of disease, internal fighting, and Indian attacks. After investigating the circumstances, Columbus left La Navidad and continued westward to found .

The location and fate of La Navidad have captured the imaginations of many scholars over the years, but perhaps none so intensely as Samuel Eliot Morrison of Harvard and William Hodges of Haiti. On the basis of Columbus' log and other accounts, prevailing sea conditions, knowledge of sailing, and shoreline features and changes, Morrison and other concluded that the site of La Navidad should be within a kilometer of the tiny Haitian fishing village of Limonade Bord de Mer (Morrison, 1940; Taviani, 1981). Excavations commissioned by Morrison were conducted at the village in 1939, but revealed only the remains from an 18th century Freeh blockhouse (Boggs, 1940). In 1975, Dr. William Hodges located a previously unknown Arawak Indian town about half a kilometer from Limonade Bord de Mer, at the edge of a mangrove growth and saline basin that connect the site with the shore. Analysis of aerial photographs by University of Florida geologists indicates that a tributary of the Grande Riviere du Nord connected the site to the shore possibly as recently as 300 years ago. A now-dry channel of this tributary can be seem in the photographs, extending along the north part of the site and emptying into the sea at Limonade Bord de Mer. Damming activities carried out by 18th century French planters considerably altered the northern course of the Grande Riviere, and resulted in a great deal of alluvium deposit along the coast to the west of the site (Cummings, 1973). The site at En Bas Saline has been free of such accumulation, however an intact cultural deposit is present directly below the 10 cm. deep plow zone. It appears from vegetational patterns and the river channels that the En Bas Saline site lies in approximately the same relationship to the coast as it did in the time of Columbus.

Dr. William Hodges carried out preliminary excavations at the site in 1977 (Hodges, 1984), and these revealed that it contained a Chicoid occupation with a dense concentration of Carrier cultural material (Rouse, 1939; Rainey & Rouse, 1941). Hodges also located part of a very large and deep feature, which he hypothesized as the possible well of La Navidad (Hodges, 1984).

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The site remained undisturbed after that time until the University of Florida project began in 1983.

We believe that the En Bas Saline site was very likely the town of Guacanacaric, because of its location in relation to the Columbus accounts, the absence of other significant Carrier period towns in the vicinity, and our recent firm dating of the site to the time of Columbus' presence in the area. In order to identify La Navidad which is known to be located at Guacanacaric's town, it will be necessary to locate structural evidence and features, including the burned remains (or stains from) a watchtower, palisade, possibly other structures, a moat and possibly a well. The presence of European artifacts alone will not be sufficient, since these portable items could easily have reached areas unseen by Europeans at a very early date through trading activities. It is probable that all European items -including fragments of glass, metal and ceramics- were removed from La Navidad by the Indians very shortly after its demise. There should, however, be evidence for European wood fragments, seeds and animal remains known to have been there as supplies.

In order to both search for La Navidad and achieve better understand the site we have implement a program of topographic mapping, a complete controlled surface collection, electromagnetic survey, aerial reconnaissance and limited testing. The site is densely covered in garden crops and other vegetation growth, creating considerable logistical problems in surveying. At this point the entire site is mapped, with about half of the data presently entered in the computer mapping program used to generate the topographic map.

The electromagnetic survey is being done with an EM 31 terrain conductivity meter, which measures the conductivity of the soil (it is the reverse of soil resistivity measurement, and considerably faster, since no electrodes are used). This is being carried out on a 2 meter grid over the entire site in order to detect sub-surface anomalies corresponding to a moat or burned palisade ditch. These results are also analyzed in a computer mapping program.

Because of the extensive clearing required for the survey, we have been able to carry out a complete surface collection at the site, which, as analyzed in the SYMAP program, is proving to be an extremely valuable tool for assessing functional and depositional variability within the site. In addition to the surface collection, a series of 25 cm. test pits have been placed across the entire north-south extent and east-west extent of the site. Excavated stratigraphically, these have provided a cross section of the depositional profile of the site.

The 1984 season was devoted to excavations in the area of Hodge's previous test, both to investigate the possibility of the La Navidad well suggested by that work, and to obtain information about site stratigraphy, chronology and content. Because extensive areal excavations in search of La Navidad will not take place until the survey is complete and the results assessed, I would like to concentrate in the remainder of this paper upon what the project has learned so far about site structure, organization and chronology.

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Site structure and organization

The site is comprised of a raised earth and shell ring measuring approximately 350 meters in diameter north to south, and 300 meters diameter east to west. The ring itself is about 70 cm. in height, and about 20 meters wide. The north and northeast sections of the ring were adjacent to the river when the site was occupied, and there appears to be an opening in the eastern part of the ring. The center of the ring is generally flat and open, except for an area with a raised, "Tongue-like" projection extending from the ring into the center.

Artifact distribution is concentrated, as expected, near the ring itself. The central area is relatively free of cultural material, except for the raised, "tongue-like" area, where considerable material is present. Concentrations of refuse on the ring area itself correspond both to variations in the elevation of the ring, and also to the presence of sub-surface anomalies. We presently are hypothesizing that these are individual habitation areas. The 1984 tests were carried out in such an area on the "tongue-like" extension of the ring, and revealed that a post structure was, in fact, present. Cultural materials are scattered on the surface of the site for more than a mile to the south, although none of these scatters have yet been identified in association with raised earth features.

The 1984 excavations provided more specific information about the site's stratigraphie situation, cultural affiliation and chronological position, although it must be cautioned that these data represent only a very small part of a very large site. Excavations were placed on the raised, "tongue-like" area in the center of the site, and revealed that in this area, the cultural deposits were 50 to 80 cm. thick, deposited in two distinct zones. The upper zone was the result of modern gardening activities, and the lower was of dark, grey-brown clayey soil overlying culturally sterile, loose, river-deposited sand which in turn overlaid sterile clay. These zones were excavated in 10 centimeter increments within the naturally occurring deposits.

The excavations in this area, which covered 20 square meters, yielded an artifact assemblage of 12,858 ceramic items, 137 lithic items, 6 other culturally modified items, and 3 European artifacts. In addition, 953 kilos of shell, 68 kilos of coral, 64 kilos of rock, 61 kilos of limerock, and 27 kilos of clay daub were recovered. Time limitations regrettable do not permit a detailed discussion of these remains and their distributions. They conform in general to the classic descriptions of Chicoid materials for this area (Rouse, 1939, 1941; Rainey and Rouse, 1941), and the large feature mentioned earlier contained all of the ceremonial items recovered, including a jojoba tube from a turkey legbone, and an elaborate duck effigy vessel.

The densest deposit, and presumably the major occupation, occurs from 10 to 40 cm. below the surface. We believe that this was a historic period occupation, based on the recovery of one sherd of melado earthenware, one fragment of latticino Venetian glass, and one fragment of Columbia Plain majolica, all known to date in Spain to the late 15th century. Deposits extended below this level for 50 cm. more, and so far there is no evidence to suggest that these lower layers were deposited during historic times (faunal analysis, however, is still underway and could well reveal the presence of European fauna, which would place the deposits in the historic period).

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A most intriguing feature initiated within Zone 2, level 2 (a historic zone) and it was itself filled in during historic times. This was the deep feature initially located by Hodges, which we relocated and excavated. It is a circular deposit of about 1.2 meters in diameter at the top, extending to a depth of 1.96 meters. It consists of two major deposits, excavated separately in 10 cm. levels. Today there is about 30 cm. of standing water in the feature, although the relationship of this water table to that of 1492 is still unknown. Four radiocarbon dates and four thermoluminescence dates were calculated on samples taken from the feature, providing an adjusted, weighted mean overall date of 510±35 years BP (or 1425-1435). We can refine this date, however, by the presence in levels 9 and 11 of the feature of a pig tooth (Sus scrofa) and a rat bone (Rattus ratus). Both of these species are exclusively European in origin, and suggest that the feature is of a very early historic date. A fragment of East Indian rosewood, which is not native to Haiti, was also identified, further supporting a post-1492 date for the filling in of the feature. The repartimiento records of 1514 suggest that the native inhabitants of this area were largely depopulated by that date (Hodges, 1980: 20), and since the En Bas Saline site is less than 2 kilometers from the site of Puerto Real (established in 1503), it is likely that those Indians were among the first to be impacted. Thus we suggest a date of between 1492-1510 for the filling-in of the feature. Dates for the entire site deposit await additional excavation and radiocarbon dates, although the present data gives no indication of European presence below Zone 2, level 2, in which the feature initiated.

Time limitations unfortunately prohibit a consideration here of the arguments against and in favor of the identification of the large feature as a well. It should be noted that in the portion of the feature excavated by Hodges, an infant burial surrounded by whelks was recovered at a depth of 80 cm. below the top of the feature. The deposit, however, extended another meter below the burial to the water table. The burial and the almost exclusively aboriginal nature of the material remains does indicate however, that traditional Arawak cultural patterns were still manifest at the time the feature was filled in.

A number of other insights concerning dietary patterns, structural remains and material culture have resulted from the test excavations, which due to time constraints cannot be addressed here. We feel that these limited data have supported Hodges identifications of the site at En Bas Saline as that of Guacanacaric's town, and the search for La Navidad will continue there. Just as importantly, the information recovered in this process will document an almost completely unknown chapter in Caribbean history -that of Arawak Indian life between 1492 and the destruction of their traditional cultural patterns only decades later.

Reference

Boggs, Stanley 1940 Notes and News. American Antiquity 5 (3): 258. Cummings, George H. 1973 Reefs and related sediments of the Cap Haitian region, Haiti. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Florida Gainesville. Hodges, William 1980 Puerto Real Sources. Mimeo, Musée de Guahaba, Limbe, Haiti. 1984 The Search for La Navidad. Typescript, Musée de Guahaba, Haiti.

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Jane, Cecil. (Trans) 1960 The Journal of Christopher Columbus. New York, Ciarkson Po. Keen, Benjamin. (Trans) 1959 The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son, Ferdinand. New Brunswick, N.J. Rutgers. Las Casas, Bartolomé de 1951 Historia de las Indias Tomo II, Libro II, México. Major, R. H. (Trans) 1857 Letters of Christopher Columbus with other original document relating to his four voyages to the New World. Reprinted 1961. York, Corinth Books. Morrison, Samuel E. 1940 The route of Columbus along the North coast of Haiti and the site of La Navidad. Transactions of the American Society, vol. XXXI, part 4: 239-285. Oviedo, Fernández de 1959 Historia General y Natural de las Indias. Madrid, Biblioteca Autores Españoles. Rainey, Froelich and Irving Rouse 1941 Excavations in the Ft. Liberte region, haiti. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 23. New Haven. Rouse, Irving 1939 Prehistory in Haiti. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 21. New Haven. 1941 Culture of the Ft. Liberte Region, Haiti. Yale Publications in Anthropology 24, New Haven. Taviani, Paolo Emilio 1981 I viaggi di Colombo. La Grande scoperta. Rome.

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