Caribbean Colonial Interactions and Dynamic Island Communities: A Diachronic Archaeology of Montserrat, 1000-1730 AD

FAIN: RZ-51674-14

Wayne State University (Detroit, MI 48201-1347)
Krysta Ryzewski (Project Director: January 2014 to December 2019)

An archaeological survey and excavation on Montserrat, and preparation for publication of peer-reviewed articles and an illustrated book on the island's archaeological history. (36 months)

This proposal seeks NEH support for a three-year collaborative study focused on the archaeology of the Caribbean island of Montserrat during the period between ca.1000 and 1730 AD. Our objective is to understand the culture history and social dynamics of Montserratian communities during centuries spanning European arrival through a focus on three archaeological sites: Blake's Estate, Valentine Ghaut, and Thatch Valley. We will employ multiple archaeological, historical, and geophysical methods to achieve this objective. Our resulting data will allow us to consider how and why Montserrat's inhabitants maintained, negotiated, and adapted to circumstances of both immediate and incremental change during the period's processes of colonization.

Associated Products

Surveying a Long Term Settlement on Potato Hill, Montserrat (Book Section)
Title: Surveying a Long Term Settlement on Potato Hill, Montserrat
Author: Krysta Ryzewski
Author: John F. Cherry
Editor: Lynsey Bates
Editor: John Chenoweth
Editor: James A. Delle
Abstract: Surveying a Long Term Settlement on Potato Hill, Montserrat, chapter in the volume entitled, Archaeologies of Slavery and Freedom in the Caribbean: Exploring the Spaces in Between
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://upf.com/book.asp?id=BATES002
Access Model: for purchase
Publisher: University of Florida Press
Book Title: Archaeologies of Slavery and Freedom in the Caribbean: Exploring the Spaces in Between

Using Airborne LiDAR Survey to Explore Historic-era Archaeological Landscapes of Montserrat in the Eastern Caribbean (Article)
Title: Using Airborne LiDAR Survey to Explore Historic-era Archaeological Landscapes of Montserrat in the Eastern Caribbean
Author: Rachel Opitz
Author: Krysta Ryzewski
Author: John F. Cherry
Author: Brenna Moloney
Abstract: Using Airborne LiDAR Survey to Explore Historic-era Archaeological Landscapes of Montserrat in the Eastern Caribbean, Journal of Field Archaeology, 40(5): 523-541.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/2042458215Y.0000000016
Access Model: subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of Field Archaeology
Publisher: Journal of Field Archaeology

Struggles of a Sugar Society: Surveying Plantation-Era Montserrat, 1650-1850 (Article)
Title: Struggles of a Sugar Society: Surveying Plantation-Era Montserrat, 1650-1850
Author: Krysta Ryzewski
Author: John F. Cherry
Abstract: Struggles of a Sugar Society: Surveying Plantation-Era Montserrat, 1650-1850, International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 19(2): 356-383.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/2042458215Y.0000000016
Access Model: subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: International Journal of Historical Archaeology
Publisher: International Journal of Historical Archaeology

Report on the Excavations of Potato Hill, May-June 2015 (Report)
Title: Report on the Excavations of Potato Hill, May-June 2015
Author: C. Lorin Brace VI
Author: John F. Cherry
Author: Krysta Ryzewski
Abstract: Unpublished report submitted to the Montserrat National Trust
Date: 06/18/2015
Access Model: open access

The Runs of a Plantation-era Landscape: Using LiDAR and Pedestrian Survey to Locate Montserrat's 17th-19th Century Colonial Past (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Runs of a Plantation-era Landscape: Using LiDAR and Pedestrian Survey to Locate Montserrat's 17th-19th Century Colonial Past
Author: Brendan Doucet
Author: Athena Zissis
Author: John F. Cherry
Author: Krysta Ryzewski
Abstract: The Runs of a Plantation-era Landscape: Using LiDAR and Pedestrian Survey to Locate Montserrat's 17th-19th Century Colonial Past
Date: 01/07/2016
Conference Name: Society for Historical Archaeology

A Thorny Endeavor: Historical Archaeology and Diachronic Landscape Survey in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: A Thorny Endeavor: Historical Archaeology and Diachronic Landscape Survey in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles
Author: Krysta Ryzewski
Abstract: A Thorny Endeavor: Historical Archaeology and Diachronic Landscape Survey in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles
Date: 12/02/2015
Conference Name: Regional Approaches to Society and Complexity, Brown University

Airborne LiDAR and the Survey of Historic-era Landscapes in Central Montserrat (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Airborne LiDAR and the Survey of Historic-era Landscapes in Central Montserrat
Author: John F. Cherry
Author: Rachel Opitz
Author: Krysta Ryzewski
Abstract: Airborne LiDAR and the Survey of Historic-era Landscapes in Central Montserrat
Date: 07/25/2015
Conference Name: International Association of Caribbean Archaeology, St. Martin

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