Honoring Ancestors in Sacred Space - The Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century African-Bahamian Cemetery

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.

About the author

Grace Turner is chief archaeologist at the Antiquities, Monuments & Museum Corporation in Nassau, Bahamas.

Summary

St. Matthew’s Parish on the eastern side of Nassau had three separate cemeteries: the churchyard cemetery and Centre Burial Ground were for whites; the Northern Burial Ground for nonwhites. Grace Turner posits that the African-Bahamian community intentionally established this separate cemetery in order to observe non-European burial customs.

Product details

• Authors: Grace Turner
• Publisher: Longleaf Services on Behalf of U of Florida Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 10.10.2023
• EAN: 9781683404040
• ISBN: 978-1-68340-404-0
• No. of pages: 198
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 11 mm
• Weight: 272 g
• Series: Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Pre and early history; Non-fiction book > History > Pre and early history, antiquity