Published In

Proceedings of the XVIth International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

Subjects

Maroons -- Antiquities -- Caribbean Area, Maroons -- Caribbean Area -- Social life and customs, Archaeology and history -- Caribbean Area, Historic sites -- Caribbean Area

Abstract

Evidence from recent archaeological studies appear to suggest a redefinition of the heritage of runaway slave communities, referred to by the name Maroons and other terms. Now properly defined as the pioneer freedom fighters, it is also becoming clear that their heritage is a single constant strand in that of the New World. Contrary to previous views and descriptions which appear to indicate that these communities derived only from African slave escapees, historical and archaeological evidence from the Caribbean, and the Americas now reveal that the heritage of Maroon communities stemmed from the united force forged by between native American communities and Africans. Consequently, the suggestion must be made that calls for the redefinition of the status and role if these <> societies (the Maroons) in the making of its heritage. The major aspects of Maroon heritage which provide the context for redefinition include their composition, distribution, role of Amerindians in marronage and also the through the analysis of the material culture, the features which Maroon heritage shares with the west of the New world heritage. It is concluded that a new definition will help to explain, more objectively, the nature, context and mechanism of the functional adaptation of Maroon communities and their role in the formation and transformations that led to the achievement of freedom and human dignity in the New World.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/29445

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