Description: Established by a Black community in the eighteenth century during British colonization of the Bahamas, the Northern Burial Ground of St. Matthew's Parish was an important expression of the group's African cultural identity. Analyzing the landscape and artifacts found at the site, Grace Turner shows how the community used this separate space to maintain a sense of social belonging despite the power of white planters and the colonial government.
Brief description: Grace Turner is chief archaeologist at the Antiquities, Monuments & Museum Corporation in Nassau, Bahamas.
Review Quotes:
"A fascinating study. . . . Contributes significantly to our understanding of African-derived cultural practices in the Americas and especially in the Bahamas."--Latin American Antiquity
"Adds a welcome Caribbean voice to a chorus of valuable works contributed primarily by North Americans working in Antillean contexts. . . . A refreshing contribution."--Historical Archaeology
"A meaningful contribution to a growing body of research on the archaeology of the African diaspora that moves from the plantation to the urban center and calls attention to the variability of experiences that existed historically within communities of African descent. . . . Turner is an important Bahamian archaeological voice."--Journal of Anthropological Research
"Ground-breaking on multiple levels. . . . Throughout these chapters, it is clear that island residents were involved at every step. . . . Turner's work should be referenced by anyone working in such burial grounds in the Caribbean or in the southern United States. . . . It is public archaeology and anthropology at its best."--Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"A rare example of descendant communities researching, investigating, and writing about their own past from an anti-colonial and anti-racist perspective."--Southeastern Archaeology