Introduction
The Guadeloupe archipelago is known to have been populated by the indigenous peoples of the Americas as early as about 3000 BC. Guadeloupe is an insular region of France and, consequently, part of the European Union (van den Bel 2022). Guadeloupe is part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. Columbus visited the archipelago during his second voyage to the Americas. Still, the explorers did not pay much attention to the Lesser Antilles (van den Bel, 2022).
As Wilson (2007, 148) notes, Guadeloupe is “a sort of threshold” in the archipelago’s political geography in later prehistory. The archeological research of the region presents the distribution of Suazey ceramics in the north and other evidence of similarities between Guadeloupe and Leewards in the northwest (Wilson 2007). Numerous excavations and analyses have been made in the area, allowing archeologists to discover the tools and materials people used to possess, their way of living, and other essential things. The region’s history, traced in archeological findings, is roughly divided into the Archaic age, Early Ceramic and Late Ceramic pre-Columbian eras, and the Historic age.
The Archaic Age
The Archaic Age findings in Guadeloupe are scarce, with the tangible traces of what might have been the archipelago’s first inhabitants having been found in 2015. Archeologists were surprised that these traces were found at the slopes of Capesterre-Belle-Eau and on Marie-Galante (van den Bel 2022). On the Capesterre site, a pre-Ceramic Archaic campsite with blade débitage was found. Still, as van den Bel (2022) notes, this site is rather unique.
The Archaic population of the Lesser Antilles is mainly known from various sites beyond the Guadeloupean archipelago, such as those excavated by Inrap on St. Martin island and by the archive on Antigua island. Researchers call “the glaring absence” of Archaic Age sites in Guadeloupe a “pressing problem” (Keegan and Hofman 2017, 48). Callaghan (2017) notes that it is irrelevant to hold either navigational abilities or post-depositional natural processes responsible for the lack of findings.
Hence, scientists consider it possible for the Archaic Age sites in Guadeloupe to be yet discovered. Still, the detailed systematic surveys of the Lesser Antilles from Guadeloupe failed to reveal any new sites (Callaghan 2017). The “conservative” solution is that the Lesser Antilles had not undergone Ortoiroid colonization (Keegan and Hofman 2017, 48).
According to Callaghan (2010, 146), the current evidence for an Ortoiroid beyond Tobago is “very lacking,” and that has been classified as Ortoiroid “could at least as easily be Casimiroid.” Archeologists, thus, assume that the Casimiroid developed through constant connections with Central America and that such new practices as growing cultigens and using ground-stone tools appeared in Guadeloupe through exchange (Keegan and Hofman 2017). Overall, the Archaic Age excavations in Guadeloupe are rather minute, which leaves space for further searches and findings.
The Early Ceramic Age
The first pottery-making people arrived at Guadeloupe around the start of the first millennium CE. These people came from South America, but it is assumed that they had lived in Puerto Rico before that (van den Bel, 2022). The Early Ceramic Age colonization was a vigorous and turbulent sequence of events (Keegan and Hofman 2017). The places where highly recognizable ceramic wares have been excavated include Folle Anse, on Marie-Galante, Grande-Terre’s shore, Morel’s coast, and Basse-Terre’s center (van den Bel 2022).
There are scholarly community disputes regarding whether the Huecoid migration toward Puerto Rico occurred. There is an opinion that such a migration could have moved farther to the east and across the Lesser Antilles, merging with a Cedrosan Salaloid migration from the Lesser Antilles mainland. The word ‘Saladoid’ defines the Antillean branch of colonization since they both had a farm-based economy and followed a similar way of creating and decorating pottery (Keegan and Hofman 2017). The appearance of Saladoid populations in Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles is considered the marking point of the Ceramic Age.
Research indicates that in Guadeloupe, examples of mixtures of the two ceramic ware types have been found, indicating a close relationship between the migrations. Further large-scale excavations conducted in the 2000s generated more Cedrosan Saladoid ceramics. With the help of these findings, it became possible to locate some Saladoid wares and Troumassoid materials later (van den Bel 2022). Moreover, Cedrosan Saladoid ceramics found in Guadeloupe allowed for revealing Barrancoid influence after 300 CE, called the Modified Saladoid period, which is followed by Terminal Saladoid, starting about 500 CE (van den Bel 2022).
The Saladoid pottery design was distinguished by white-on-red paintings (Keegan and Hofman 2017). The Early Ceramic Age pottery in Guadeloupe was associated with Saladoid pottery, named after the Saladero site on the lower Orinoco. This pottery was consistent with that excavated at the Cedros sites in Trinidad (Keegan and Hofman 2017). After the colonization of Trinidad, Saladoid presumably “island-hopped” its way to Puerto Rico upon the percent of stepping-stone expansion (Keegan and Hofman 2017, 53). This view was so simple and familiar that it was not questioned for many decades.
However, in the 1980s, scientists discovered earlier radiocarbon dates in the northern islands. One such site, Morel in Guadeloupe, returned dates between 800 BC and 100 AD (Keegan and Hofman 2017). As such, archeologists were puzzled by why the earliest Huecoid and Saladoid sites were in more northern islands. Also, why these sites were hundreds of years older than the villages from the larger Windward Islands, which were closer to the South American mainland (Keegan and Hofman 2017), appeared. The generally accepted answer is that the earliest Ceramic Age sites are on the more northern islands.
Dog Burials Associated with Human Burials in the Early Ceramic Age
An interesting archeological study concerning the Early Ceramic Age involved the canine remains at Saladoid period archeological sites. Research on the role of dogs in humans’ lives in the Guadeloupe archipelago allows for tracing the period’s cultural patterns. Grouard, Perdikaris, and Debue (2013) report that during the Saladoid period, the dog remains indicate that these animals were both a part of the local diet and ritual animals. Excavations of burial sites show that smaller dogs were used for food, while larger ones were buried in association with people’s graves. Pendants, necklaces, and other adornments with dog figures found on the Early Ceramic Guadeloupe sites demonstrate that dogs were a totemic symbol for those people(Grouard, Perdikaris, and Debue 2013). This research shows how important it is to investigate different types of archeological findings and that not only utensils and tools help analyze historic sites.
The Late Ceramic Age
While the earliest periods in Guadeloupe archeology present the most interest, tracing the site’s development over centuries is no less critical. Bochaton et al. (2021) note that findings of the Late Ceramic Age in Guadeloupe are numerous. One of the sites richest in evidence is the beach of Roseau, which was identified in the 1960s but was only excavated in 2001-2002. The excavation involved several trenches, which allowed the identification of three main layers: the Contact period, the Final Ceramic, and, finally, the Late Ceramic period (Bochaton et al. 2021).
Findings included ceramic remains, human, animal, fish, bird bones, and shells. The ceramics excavated on Roseau are from the Late Ceramic Age and include such features as tripod griddles, lugs, painted Calivigny style motifs, and clay spindle whorls, indicating a Troumassan Troumassoid component (Bochaton et al. 2021). Other features, such as large oval ribs and red slip decorations, indicate Marmoran Troumassoid’s influence. Researchers note this is expected since Guadeloupe is the geographical borderline between the Troumassan and Marmoran Troumassoid.
Excavations of another Guadeloupean site, Anse à la Gourde, revealed large quantities of charcoal. This suggests that agriculture presumably involved slashing and burning vegetation during the Late Ceramic period (Beets et al. 2006). Excavations of Morel revealed burial sites of the Late Ceramic Age. The most notable was the burial of a female wearing an elaborate stone necklace, which was preserved from destruction by Jean-François Durand in 1987 (Queffelec et al. 2020).
Overall, the Late Ceramic Age excavations reveal that people living in Guadeloupe then took advantage of all tools available without specific preferences as long as raw materials of different types had the same qualities (Lammers-Keijsers 2007). Findings make it possible to learn about the evolution of people’s tool development, fishing techniques, and vertebrate exploitation strategies. As such, archeological excavations of the period allowed conclusions about people’s societal and household activities to be made.
Historic Age (Columbian Era)
The Colonial, or Historic, period in Guadeloupe is primarily associated with the sugar plantation economy. Crucial events related to this age include expeditions by Columbus and the French and Jesuit missions of the 17th century(Van del Bel 2015). While history focuses on Columbus’ expeditions and people’s migrations and transitions, archeology takes an interest in excavations of the period’s tools and artifacts that ultimately serve as the basis of historical conclusions and narrations.
In Guadeloupe and other Caribbean islands of the Columbian Era, the sugar industry played a significant role in the economy’s development. Excavations of the sites from the 17th to the 19th century indicate that people used specific ceramic vessels with the help of which they refined raw sugar and made it suitable for consumption (Yvon 2011). These vessels were called “molasses drip jars” and “sugar cone molds” (Yvon 2011, 1). The pervasive presence of these vessels’ fragments found during archeological excavations undertaken throughout the Guadeloupe Archipelago indicates the significance of the sugar industry in its economy. Ceramics samples allow for the analysis of local sugar production and economic relationships and the peculiarities of inter-island trade.
Findings of Archeological Research of the 20th-21st Centuries
With the continuous advent of new technologies and the availability of travel options, archeologists of the 20th and 21st centuries could renew and continue researching artifacts in Guadeloupe. Some of the most crucial surveys and excavations were made between 1993 and 2000 by the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University in cooperation with the Service Régional de l’Archéologie de la Guadeloupe (Hofman n.d.). Over that period, numerous sites were excavated, including Morel, Anse à la Gourde, Pointe Helleux, Morne Cybèle (La Desirade), Grande Anse, Terre de Bas (Les Saintes), and Anse à l’Eau.
Due to the dynamics of the river mouths, hurricanes, dense vegetation, and human interference, many of the sites changed since the first excavation had been done there. However, these changes also made it possible to locate some new vital findings and make assumptions for further research. For instance, excavations on Anse à l’Eau allowed for identifying two possible zones of concentration of early and late Saladoid components (Hofman n.d.). Meanwhile, the ensemble of material from pre-Columbian times that was found on Cocoyer St. Charles indicates the existence of a small early Cedrosan Saladoid occupation (Hofman n.d.). Overall, new excavations allow reviewing the Caribbean chronological charts and offer new insights into the ceramic sequence of the region.
Conclusion and the Theme to Explore in Guadeloupe
Archeological findings are essential evidence showing the lives and relationships of ancient peoples inhabiting various parts of the Earth. Migrations, occupations, customs, and other essential processes can be traced using locating and analyzing archeological findings. The history of the Caribbean, in general, and Guadeloupe, in particular, is rich in events and inventions, which can be seen from excavations of different periods. If I were to continue excavations in Guadeloupe, I would explore the presence of the Archaic Age on the island.
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