Middle Caye - 1997 & 1998

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Elizabeth Graham, Heidi Ritscher, Lisa Hilborn, and Laura Howard

Institutional affiliations: Graham, Ph.D. (York University, ROM, LFRC); Ritscher, M.Sc. (ROM, LFRC); Hilborn. Ph.D. candidate (Institute of Archaeology, University College London) and Howard, M.A. (LFRC).
Research supported by: York University, ROM, LFRC.

Cite as: Graham, Elizabeth, Heidi Ritscher, Lisa Hilborn, and Laura Howard. A Report on the 1997 and 1998 Archaeological Field Seasons at Middle Caye, Glover's Reef, Belize. In GLOVER'S REEF FIELD REPORTS 1997 & 1998, edited by Elizabeth Graham and Heidi Ritscher.

Acknowledgements: Our thanks to the Director of Glover's Reef Marine Research Station, Dr. Tom Bright, for supporting our work and sharing ideas about human transformation of island ecosystems. Thanks are also due to Cindy Bright, and to the Wildlife Conservation Society for the establishment and support of the marine research station at Middle Caye. In addition to the academic team, Conall Pendergast undertook videotape recording, and Michael Pendergast assisted with survey, mapping, and laboratory tasks.

The 1997 Season

The 1997 Progress Report submitted to the Department of Archaeology and to Glover's Reef Marine Research Station describes the activities carried out during the first one-week field season in 1997. The crew comprised Elizabeth Graham (York University), Heidi Ritscher (Royal Ontario Museum), and Lisa Hilborn (Institute of Archaeology, University College, London), with assistance provided by Conall and Michael Pendergast. We completed a tape and compass map of the island and located evidence of prehistoric and historic occupation. We also mapped he modern buildings that constitute the Wildlife Conservation Society's marine research facility.

A range of artifacts including Maya and British ceramics, faunal material, buoy mould fragments, bottle glass, nails, and metal fragments had been collected by residents of the caye and stored in the fisheries office. These and the artifact concentrations mapped by us indicated that human use of the caye showed a pattern, and seemed to occur predominantly within an area that includes the dorm, the director's residence, and the low-elevation area of coconut palms that lies west of the director's residence and extends south and west for a distance of about 100m (see map). The island's southwestern periphery as well as the windward shingle ridge have not produced occupation evidence. There is some suggestion, given the apparent pattern of artifact deposition, that the island's area has increased in size and that island-building has taken place since prehistoric times.

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The 1998 Season

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During the 1998 season we began two test excavations, and also focused on preliminary analysis of the ceramic and bottle glass material. As was the case in 1997, we had only a single week on Middle Caye in June, with the result that only very preliminary work could be completed. The field crew comprised Elizabeth Graham, Heidi Ritscher, Laura Howard, Conall Pendergast, and Michael Pendergast.

The locations of test excavations are shown in Map No. 1. Op 98-1 was situated at the northern extremity of the "coconut palm depression." The test was laid out to examine a concentration of conch and bottle glass, the co-occurrence of which suggested a possible midden. High concentrations of fragmented bottle glass continued only to a depth of about 10 cm and occurred mainly in a small zone around two coconut tree trunks, trapped in the root mat. The conchs occurred slightly more widely than the bottle glass, within a 2 m square zone around the trunks. Some of the conch shells had been cut into with an instrument that produced a round hole (prehistoric?) and some with a knife (historic?). We thought at first that this might represent 16th or 17th century occupation, but the bottle glass indicated a later date. One bottle base bears a bottle patent date of April 17th, 1877. We excavated the test pit (ca. 2m X 1.5m) to a depth of 15 cm. Time constraints did not permit more digging. No bottle glass fragments, except for a few tiny glass sherds, occurred at the 15 cm level, but conch continued at low concentration as the root mat thinned somewhat. Only one or two sherds from Maya vessels were recovered from Op 98-1. Further excavation at this locus appears desirable.

A second test pit was laid out towards the end of the week. Again, given time constraints, we could excavate this test area down to only a few centimetres in depth. The test area was located at the southern or southwestern limit of the "coconut depression" in a zone that we believe may have been close to the island's southwestern shore in prehistoric and early historic times. This particular zone is characterized by the presence of a large sea grape tree (Coccoloba uvifera) and an almond tree, in addition to the ubiquitous coconut palms. Non-coconut vegetation was apparently more widespread at one time, but a fire that occurred within the last 10 years spread throughout the island and wiped out most of the local vegetation; the sea grape and almond trees are remnants of the pre-fire conditions (T. Bright, personal communication 1998).

The area where we placed Op 98-2 is higher than most of the coconut depression, and seems to be an old shingle ridge that once lined a windward shore when the island was either smaller, or a different shape. Bottle glass and English and Maya pottery litter the surface here, and the single chert flake recovered in 1997 came from this zone. The artifact concentrations suggest that this was one of the spots on the island that saw repeated occupation and use. Unfortunately there was not enough time to carry out extensive excavation, but as with Op 98-1, further excavation in the area would be highly likely to yield significant additional cultural information.

During the first few days of our week on Middle Caye, our walking surveys revealed almost nothing in the way of artifacts. After a day or so of rain, however, artifacts appeared on the surface and were easily spotted. They comprised Maya sherds, British and other historic pottery, glass, shells including Spondylus, and fragments of stone not natural to the island that probably came from the Stann Creek District. All the major locations of artifact concentrations from 1997 and 1998 are noted on Map No. 1.

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The Maya ceramics are similar in form, surface treatment, and wear to pottery from the mainland Stann Creek District (Graham 1994). Slips are completely worn; temper, which includes sand, calcite, shell, is present in the case of sand but often dissolved in the case of calcite and shell; and rim sherds are few. There is very little on which to base an inference, but the rim forms suggest that the pottery is from the Late and Terminal Classic periods. This parallels the dating assigned to pottery found by Euan MacKie at Grand Bogue Point, Turneffe Island, and reported in one of the Atoll Research Bulletins. This is a very tentative conclusion, however, because the pottery is in such poor shape. We also recovered a single notched sherd (net or line sinker).

British and Spanish ceramics

Spanish ceramics consist of two possible Columbia Plain majolica sherds, and one or two possible olive jar sherds.
Of the British ceramics, we identified:
-- feather-edge pearl ware, mostly plates, blue and green edged, dates: 1800-1820
-- what Hume calls annular ware, which refers to plates and shallow soup bowls that have been engine turned when painted
-- some hand-painted pearlware common throughout the 1800s
-- blue transfer-printed pottery (the majority of the collection), mainly plates and shallow soup bowls, 1800s; there is one possible flow-blue; there are also examples of green and brown transfer-printed ware, common in the 1800s
-- red transfer-printed ware, 1820-1870; plate and shallow soup bowl forms
-- pearl ware represented by a number of clear-glazed white slipped sherds; identified based on blue glaze pooling; one pomade jar is pearl ware
-- a wide variety of stone wares: possibly Dutch gins, jugs, crocks, bottles; dates could be 18th century to modern
-- fragmented jug in blue on pale blue, stamped "E.M....Smith, Dock St., 12, St. John, N.B." (the image bellow)

Glass

-- 3 complete glass bottles, one possibly an English fish sauce and other 2 medicinal flasks, one with a possible patent date and stamp not recorded -- according to Hume, patent stamps post-date 1822
-- 3 glass fragments, one with "...OCK'S VERMIFUGE" stamp (a parasite remedy); one Dutch gin; one lilac coloured bottle neck
-- rounded-bottom glass bottles which were probably Irish soda bottles, mould-blown, and 19th century.
-- a small dark purple bottle base with "132" stamped on it which was likely salve, and the 132 refers to batch number
-- amethyst coloured bottle base with "April 17, 1877," noted above to be a patent for the bottler rather than the contents
-- a shoulder stamp or applied boss with "Pernod fils", green bottle glass
-- another with "PELDAR" impressed
-- a large red ceramic jug, v. light and brittle; possibly a water cooling jug similar to one found on Sergeant's Caye about 30 years ago (D. Pendergast, personal communication 1998).
-- some pseudo-edge ware in green and blue, made to look like feather-edged pearl ware.

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Small dark purple bottle base with "132" stamped on it

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We hope to be able to return to the caye in the future to continue our work. As the first step in such continuation we propose to make a contour map of the island and establish a grid system to facilitate recording of excavations, artifacts, vegetation communities, and soil types.

Although the artifact yield is low in comparison to other island sites off the Belize coast as well coastal and inland sites, the use of an atoll is nonetheless a fascinating topic in its own right. In the first stage of our work, we hope to contribute to knowledge of the island's history by clarifying human use. The second stage, which will be part of a broader programme that incorporates work on other cayes, will focus on documenting the ways in which human use affected the island ecosystem through time.

For information on the activities of Glover's Reef Marine Research Station, check their web site at: http://www.une.edu/glover/glovindx.html
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