Most Frequently asked Questions.......

Several questions come to mind when one first looks at the archaeological site at Cinnamon Bay. Here are the most frequently asked questions and the answers. We hope all who can will come out to the site and see the real thing, contemplate more about the Taino and their history as well as the historic past. Maybe you will get a little dirty and formulate your own theories!

"What are you digging for?"

This archaeological work-in-progress is unearthing five hundred years of ceremonial activity of the Taino Indians and their ancestors. At Cinnamon Bay we are literally digging for the history of St. John. Any clues, which are found in the archaeological record (also known as artifacts and ecofacts), are used to help piece together the cultural development of the Taino on St. John. We are working to gain insight into the lives of the Taino and their predecessors. Whether it be a fish bone, beads, shellfish offerings, pottery, a carved stone zemi, a dog tooth, shell or stone pendant, or shell eyes, we look carefully at all materials and interpret each one independently as well as in correlation with the entire collection and other collections.

"So, how did you know to dig here?"

In the early 20th century, artifacts from prehistoric peoples were found on the surface at Cinnamon Bay. In 1992, a test excavation suggested that the remains were Taino, the culture that first greeted Columbus. The site was found to be extremely significant because of its integrity, as layers upon layers of ceremonial artifacts were found just as the villagers had left them.

The excavation began in July of 1998. The recovery efforts began because of erosion. The beach is washing away at an incredibly rapid rate and threatening to take the history of the Taino as well as historic remains from the plantation era. We are doing all we can to recover and preserve as much of this rich history before it is lost to this naturally occurring phenomenon.

"Taino! I've always heard Carib and Arawak when I visit St. John." So who are the Taino and what about the Carib and Arawak?

Until we started this dig we did not know for certain who was on St. John about the time Columbus burst onto the scene. But now the evidence points to the Taino. To define these cultural groups lets turn to Irving Rouse, an archeologist who has studied the prehistoric peoples of the Caribbean for more than a half century. The Tainos were the first to greet Columbus and were the predominant ethnic group that inhabited the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Virgin Islands. Arawak is an ethnic group that can be found in South America in the northern part of the Guianas. The Carib are another South American ethnic group that lived in the Orinoco River Delta. Carib is now a popular term for the warlike inhabitants that occupied the Windward Islands during the Historic Period. Today archeologists and ethnohistorians refer to these people as Island-Caribs or Kalina, as they called themselves, to distinguish this group from those Caribs who live around the Orinoco Delta. A good starting point to learn more about these cultural groups is Irving Rouse's 1992 book, "The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus," Yale University Press.

"Did you find anything good yet / today?"

The answer to this question is simple and consistent. "Yes!" It is important to recognize that all artifacts, which we recover, no matters how big or small are considered "good". Everything that remains in the archaeological record is worth a great deal as yet another clue to understanding the past. We need not find a buried treasure nor artifacts, which are particularly valuable monetarily speaking, to qualify them as "good". Each piece of pottery and each shell offering brings us closer and closer to understanding the lifeways and culture of the Taino. Of course, it is most exciting to unearth a Zemi (deity) figure or a new style of shell bead, but those moments are not as frequent as the unearthing of carved pottery fragments, exquisite shell offerings, and fish bones.

"Where do the artifacts go after all this?"

Almost all artifacts are photographed and mapped exactly where they are found (in situ) within a 10-centimeter level. All pottery fragments, which appear to be correlated (based on location, thickness, diameter, and grain), are bagged together. All other artifacts are labeled as to unit and depth. All soils are put through a quarter inch screen, and then a sixteenth inch screen to insure that all materials are recovered. Most materials are washed very carefully in fresh water and then air-dried. After drying, the artifacts are sorted. Shells are identified down to genus and species. Bones are sorted into categories of fish and mammals. Pottery is sorted for future attempts at vessel reconstruction. After all the sorting, shells are weighed, counted and logged, and will be returned to the ground area from which they were taken. Many samples are taken during the project. They will go to a variety of specialists, but all materials will come back to St. John. Types of samples collected include soil samples which may help us to see micro-stratification; bone or faunal samples that the zooarchaeologist will study to understand diet, subsistence patterns, technological advancement in food procurement and species taxation through time and space. All the carbonized plant remains will first go to the project's paleobotanist. She will look at how humans have affected the island's plant environment over time, the diet of the Taino, and look for plants they may have used for medicinal purposes. These remains will then be off to another laboratory for radiocarbon (C-14) dating.

To date, there is no functioning museum to display the significant objects of these people that will tell their story. However, a monumental effort is underway to raise funds and awareness about the proposed heritage center and its role in the community. For now, the artifacts are stored in a controlled climate environment.

"Can we help?"

Again, this is probably the only other question that always gets a big "YES!" The dig is run mainly on volunteer help. Several hundred people and seven thousand hours of volunteer time have kept the dig in motion. You can be trained on site and after about ten minutes, are on your way to becoming the next Indiana Jones. Volunteer jobs do change day by day and minute by minute. It is possible to wash artifacts one day, screen dirt another day, and then dig another, but if you stick around long enough, you will certainly get a feel for the site as well as what it is like to be an archaeologist on a field assignment. There are student interns at the dig so you will be working with others who have a little more experience. Children under 14 have to be accompanied by an adult; otherwise there are neither age restrictions nor educational limitations, you just have to be willing to get a little bit dirty. If the dirt scares you, its OK, you can help in the lab or you can help by just becoming a member of the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park. Your donations help to fund the dig and other worthwhile Park projects. To learn more about becoming a volunteer at the Cinnamon Bay Archaeological site please see the volunteering section of this site.