Revisiting Seville : the significance of house-yard burials at the Seville Plantation, St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica

Abstract

The phenomenon of African slave house-yard burials in Jamaica is a rare occurrence. Archaeological excavations in the 1990s on the Seville Plantation site uncovered four separate house-yard burials typical of a distinct African burial pattern dating to the 18th century. Using spatial analysis, as well as comparative studies with contemporary burial sites in the Caribbean and burial sites within the African slave culture from the 18th and 19th centuries, this paper examines the significance of these burials. The distinguishing attributes of the individuals as well as the burial practices, funerary beliefs, and artifacts collected are examined.