Fulbright Research with the Department of History & Archaeology, University of the West Indies

Peter Siegel, Anthropology, was awarded a one-year teaching and research Fulbright posting with the Department of History & Archaeology, University of the West Indies, Mona campus (Kingston, Jamaica). He has been collaborating with archaeologists and geologists at UWI, Mona, cultural heritage staff at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, and community members in Central Village, where the largest prehistoric site in Jamaica is located.

Research currently underway is focused on (1) a pilot study investigating the chemical and mineralogical properties of raw clay and pottery samples from the White Marl archaeological site to address trade and exchange patterns among the late prehistoric chiefdom societies in Jamaica and (2) issues of heritage management, protection, and policy and community engagement on the island. Results of the pilot study will be used to develop a collaborative Montclair State/UWI, Mona NSF proposal to examine a range of archaeological sites and clay deposits thereby building a cultural landscape perspective on regional networks of trade and exchange with implications for the rest of the Greater Antilles.