Search Project Results: Antigua and Barbuda

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	Barbuda Historical Ecology Project, Barbuda	This project is a multi-disciplinary longitudinal research effort focusing on the island of Barbuda from first human settlement through to the present day. The goal of the project is to investigate human/environment interactions on the island of Barbuda and define the island’s place within the cultural and climatic realm of the Lesser Antilles and the circum-Atlantic region. It is a multi-disciplinary project with scholars from across the spectrum of social and hard sciences. Issues of island biogeography, cultural geography, subsistence through each cultural epoch, resilience and vulnerability in the face of extreme weather and environmental/landscape changes,as well as regional and oceanic connections will be approached through multiple disciplines and then analyzed in a collaborative forum. The project emphasis is on interdisciplinary, international collaboration of scientists, education and outreach. The project is part of a large initiative funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs on Islands of Change (IOC). The IOC initiative will connect progressive interdisciplinary science with innovative approaches to science education and heritage outreach to connect two small rural island communities of Barbuda, West Indies and Thingeyjarsveit, Iceland with the large urban island community of New York City. The islands present strong contrasts in scale, history, ethnicity, and natural environment, but common themes and processes connect these islands in both past and present. The islands today are faced by challenges associated with rapid global change- climate change, sea level rise, changes in plant and animal life, and the social and economic disruptions caused by dramatic shifts in world economy. They also share histories of external colonization, local adaptation, human impacts on landscape and resources, and changing impacts of past global economic connections. These islands are products of complex historical interaction of humans and environment which continues to affect their potential for future sustainability and likewise face common twenty first century challenges of educating citizens and future leaders for resilience and nurturing young scientists with strong social commitment. The Islands of Change program is working to connect local and global educational efforts with exciting new field science to provide lasting benefits to local communities as well as students from the City University of New York.
	Seaview, Barbuda	Excavation of this early Saladoid site has been ongoing since 2008. What began as a salvaging effort to rescue midden deposits being eroded away by the sea has evolved into an open-area excavation of a large settlement. The 2011 excavation, aimed at retrieval of prehistoric cultural remains and student training, has been one component of a broader BHEP effort investigating human/environment interactions on the island of Barbuda and seeking to define the island’s place within the cultural and climatic realm of the Lesser Antilles and the circum-Atlantic region. Field School students under the supervision of Dr. Sophia Perdikaris continued work begun in 2008 at Seaview, aimed at further exploration of cultural features surrounding a possible early Saladoid plaza. The excavation consisted of a large open-area trench connecting with one of the 2008 test trenches (TRB5), which produced a large posthole. Based on 2008 and 2009 C14 dates, we suspect that the inland test trenches and subsequent excavations this year represent an earlier phase of Saladoid settlement on Barbuda, relative to the midden excavations along the erosion face. The excavation was successful in finding further evidence of a Saladoid settlement situated around a plaza. The finds included artifacts and ecofacts, numerous sunken features including postholes, cooking pits, and dumping pits.
	BHEP Post-Columbian Archaeology, Antigua/Barbuda	These projects are part of the post-Columnbian/Historical Archaeology wing of the Barbuda Historical Ecology Project. Please contact George Hambrecht (ghambrecht@gmail.com) for any further information or questions.
	Archaeological Investigations of Codrington Castle, Codrington, Barbuda, Antigua/Barbuda
	Highland House, Antigua/Barbuda	Highland House was a multi-purpose complex built in the highlands of Barbuda at the direction of William Codrington. The complex was started during the 1720's and it was in use into the early 19th century. This is a distinctive site in Caribbean historical archaeology in that it was built at least in part as a hunting lodge/vacation house for European's living in or visiting the region. It had a managerial role, and possibly a defensive role as well. Not directly related to sugar production, this site has the potential to reveal new insights on the life of Georgian gentlemen, as well as the enslaved, and possibly free, Afro-caribbean residents of this region during the 18th century.
	Human-Plant Interactions in Barbuda, Barbuda	This archaeobotanical project is part of the larger archaeoenvironmental section of the Barbuda Historical Ecology Project. It is also part of a Ph.D. research at Université Laval (supervised by Dr. Allison Bain) that includes the study of long-term human-plant interactions in both Barbuda and French Guiana. This project aims at studying economy and ecology in response to human occupations. Therefore, five archaeobotanical types of remains are studied: seeds, charcoal, pollen, phytoliths and starch residues.
	The River Site, Barbuda	This Archaic Period site has remnants of the Archaic Strombus Line feature that stretched across the southern coast of Barbuda.
	The Caves of Barbuda, Windward Coast of Barbuda	Part of the Barbuda Historical Ecology Project - the caves on the windward side of Barbuda show evidence of occupation from earliest settlement through to the present day. These caves present a fascinating spectrum of activities from the many different cultures who have inhabited Barbuda.