BURYING THE DEAD IN PRE-COLUMBIAN ARUBA

Egber t H. J . B o e r s t r a

During the l a s t few y e a r s the Archaeologica l Inst i tute of the Ne ther lands Ant i l les h a s excavated on a r e l a t ive ly l a r g e sca le in the t h r e e m o s t extensive habi ta t ion s i t e s on Aruba: Ceru Noka, Savaneta and Tanki F l ip . Work at the l a s t i s s t i l l in p r o g r e s s and excavat ion methods a r e ment ioned in another pape r ( B o e r s t r a 1974). E m p h a s i s i s put on r eco rd ing s t r u c t u r e s or f ea tu re s that have been left in situ, thus r econs t ruc t ing as much a s poss ib le of the way of life in p r e - C o l u m b i a n Aruba . P o t t e r y found in the s i t es belongs to the Dabajuroid Se r i e s of Rouse and Cruxent (1958, 1961), r ad ioca rbon da tes f rom Tanki F l ip a r e around A. D. 1200 (Heidecker and Siegel 1969). Unfortunately, a s usual ly i s the ca se in habi ta t ion s i t e s , mos t f ragi le objects a r e b roken , those in situ included. Seldom is a comple te v e s s e l found even in a re fusa l pi t , excel lent ly p r e s e r v e d as the l a t t e r may be . N e v e r t h e l e s s , we have un­covered s e v e r a l b reakab le objects that w e r e undamaged or only slightly damaged, m o s t of them in a s i tuat ion that explains that condition eas i ly . They w e r e , or belong to the contents of g r a v e s and have been intentionally bur ied in dug-out p i ts that have been filled in d e l i b e r ­ately and have r e m a i n e d untouched. This paper wil l p r e s e n t a survey of the b u r i a l s found and r e c o r d e d in and n e a r the excavat ions ment ioned before .

Each habi ta t ion s i te cove r s s eve ra l h e c t a r e s . Locat ions of b u r i a l s in excavated a r e a s and s t r ay finds of bu r i a l u r n s and bones within the boundar ies of the p r e h i s t o r i c s e t t l emen t s show that t h e r e w a s no s e p a r a t e g rave a n d / o r u r n field. B u r i a l s , s ingle , double, and in c l u s ­t e r s , a r e s ca t t e r ed all over the s i t e s . Nor is t he r e as yet any pa t t e rn to be seen in the d i s ­t r ibut ion of different t y p e s . When we have bulldozed away the d i s tu rbed topsoi l f rom a c e r ­tain a r e a , usua l ly down to 30-40 cm, and s t a r t examining the untouched soil (untouched, at l e a s t , during the l a s t cen tu r i e s ) , any d i sco lora t ion can indicate the p r e s e n c e of a pit and every pi t can poss ib ly contain a bu r i a l (Fig. 1).

T h e r e a r e t h r e e types of b u r i a l s : skele tons bur ied in a pit with or without g rave gif ts , p r i m a r y u r n b u r i a l s , and secondary u r n b u r i a l s . The u r n s only contain skeleton m a t e r i a l . It i s not a lways easy to m a k e out which kind of bu r i a l a ce r t a in ca se r e p r e s e n t s . When I say that the l aye r we excavate sys t ema t i ca l ly i s undis turbed it does not m e a n that we only have to loca te p i t s , m a k e sec t ions through them, and find the contents neat ly a r r a n g e d for s t r a igh t ­forward i n t e rp r e t a t i on . Even when no d i s tu rbance during pos t -Columbian t i m e has o c c u r r e d , the s i tuat ion can be v e r y compl ica ted . I wil l t r y to explain some points which de t e rmine whether a fea ture m a y be cal led a bu r i a l or not.

In c a s e we come a c r o s s a single pit containing one comple te skeleton that obviously has been put in the t r ad i t iona l flexed posi t ion, with a r m s and legs folded, the si tuat ion i s c lea r (Fig. 2). Even when the skeleton i s d i s a r r a n g e d , we can cal l the pit a g rave pit if the posi t ion of the bones is c lose to the surface or when the i r d i sp lacement can be explained from soil movemen t and p r e s s u r e after decomposi t ion of the body. T h e r e a r e m o r e s e r i ous p r o b l e m s when the skele ton i s incomple te , a s i s the ca se in a lmos t half of the b u r i a l s . We can dis t inguish t h r e e kinds: one i s when a g rave pit has been dug into, th i s o c c u r s v e r y s e l ­dom; two i s a sma l l pi t , c l ea r ly v i s ib le , containing a few bones only; and t h r ee i s a r e g u l a r skeleton b u r i a l , a s ment ioned f i r s t , but a p a r t , usual ly the skull , i s m i s s i n g . The l a t t e r two can have g rave gifts on top of the bones . As t he se a r e not broken and the bones a r e m o r e or l e s s a r t i cu la ted , we may ca l l t h e s e f ea tu res g r a v e s (Fig. 3). On the other hand, s o m e t i m e s bowls or o ther v e s s e l s a r e bur ied , e i ther upr ight or upside down, without connection with a g r a v e . T h e s e , too , s o m e t i m e s p r e s e n t a p r o b l e m . One bowl, bur ied upr ight , contained only soil but undernea th w e r e t h r e e human tee th . That does not r e p r e s e n t an incomple te b u r i a l , of course ; but not too far f rom th i s w a s an even s t r a n g e r fea ture . It cons i s ted of some l a r g e she rds , a s f rom a b u r i a l u r n , put toge ther l ike a b i r d ' s ne s t , while on top w e r e t h r e e human

125

126 BURYING THE DEAD IN ARUBA

skul ls and a few smal l bones (Fig. 4). These w e r e found in a pit with a fill tha t could not be d is t inguished from the na tu ra l soi l . It m u s t have been filled in with c l e a r yellow sand, and we only found it by accident . Th i s , too, puts the find in an except ional pos i t ion and excludes the poss ib i l i ty of d i s tu rbance during colonial t i m e s , such a s the rebury ing of acc identa l finds for supers t i t ious r e a s o n s . The top l aye r i s da rk d i r t and it i s v i r tua l ly imposs ib le in that a r e a to dig a pit and fill it in with uncontaminated yellow sand. Do we have to cal l th is a b u r i a l ? It m o s t ce r t a in ly is a typica l . P e r h a p s we might cal l it an u r n b u r i a l , a s wil l be shown below. So bur i a l pa t t e rn s include the following va r i a t i ons : p i t s with some sca t t e red bones , p i t s with some a r t i cu la ted bones but no comple te skeleton, p i t s with a r t i cu la ted skele­tons but with a p a r t m i s s ing usual ly the skull, and p i t s with comple te ske le tons . All these except the f i r s t can be with or without g rave goods.

So much for the p r o b l e m s with b u r i a l s of dead bodies which had not been put inside b u r i a l u r n s . Now the second type: the genera l pa t t e rn is that the dead, in a squatting pos i ­t ion, i s put upr ight into a l a r g e u rn which then is covered by another one put ups ide down on top of i t . The r e su l t an t egg-shaped s t r u c t u r e , up to IZO cm high and 70 cm in d i a m e t e r , i s then bu r i ed . The highest point, the bottom of the top u rn , usua l ly i s in the zone of the d i s ­tu rbed top soil and subsequently des t royed . The lower u r n always i s found filled up with soil, the bones have sunk to the bot tom. Since the u r n s a r e the m o s t s t r ik ing f ea tu re s in the field and m o s t l ikely to be recognized as in te res t ing or valuable objec ts , u r n b u r i a l s have suffered m o s t f rom pot-hunt ing. F r o m them, too, m u s t have or ig ina ted the theory that the s i t es in Aruba m u s t be u r n f ie lds , no doubt, in m y opinion, with the European u r n f ields of the Hal l -s ta t t pe r iod in mind . In t h r e e c a s e s we found the top half left. Th i s happened because i t s r i m w a s broken; and the v e s s e l , p r e s s e d down over the lower one, opened up at the same t i m e , to r e s e m b l e an u m b r e l l a (Fig. 5). But th i s i s the ideal s i tuat ion. More often the u r n s a r e s e v e r e ­ly damaged and it i s difficult to de t e rmine if it i s an u rn bu r i a l at a l l . Genera l ly speaking, a pit with sca t t e red human bones can be cons idered the r e m a i n s of an u r n b u r i a l if t h e r e a r e a l so l a rge thick po t she rds lining the bottom of the p i t .

The th i rd type i s the secondary u r n b u r i a l . H e r e , too, a s m a l l e r u r n i s put upside down upon a l a r g e r one, but the height of both together i s no m o r e than 60 c m . The top one contains a skull , the other a bundle of bones , obviously taken together after decomposi t ion of the body. I only came upon one c lus te r of t h r e e or m o r e of th i s combinat ion, found by workmen in a n a r r o w t r ench they w e r e digging for a telephone cable in 1971. A smal l r e s c u e excavation r e su l t ed . In the r egu la r excavat ions we found no evidence of any, so they m u s t be s c a r c e compared to the other two types of bu r i a l , o r , maybe , the secondary u r n b u r i a l s a r e located in different p a r t s of the s i t e s , p a r t s w h e r e we have not yet excavated .

The total number of r e co rded , comple te or pa r t i a l b u r i a l s , i s 71. The 3 type- three b u r i a l s a r e excluded, s ince they w e r e not found in a r egu la r excavat ion. Type one, the ske le ­ton b u r i a l s , a r e m o s t frequent . Of 44, 26 can be called comple te or a lmos t comple te ske le ­tons . In two c a s e s the skull was mi s s ing without any v is ib le d i s t u rbance . Seven of these skele­tons had g rave gifts, consis t ing of a v e s s e l , put upside down on top of the skeleton at the chest (Fig. 6), the pe lv i s , or at the feet; and, in one c a s e , upr ight (Fig. 7).

The i r compass or ienta t ion v a r i e s . I ' l l ment ion the ma in axis of the body, skull f i rs t : no r th - sou th , 10 c a s e s ; south-nor th , 11; and other d i r ec t ions 5. Of the sou th-nor th or iented skele tons 9 o c c u r r e d in Tanki Fl ip a lone, and of t he se 5 w e r e lying c lose toge ther in a c l u s ­t e r of s epa ra t e p i t s . All 9 a r e without gif ts . Close by w a s a w e s t - e a s t bu r i a l with a smal l . bowl on the pe lv is and at the legs an object that r e s e m b l e s a wide w i n e - g l a s s on a s t em, with­out foot. Black in co lor , it c losely r e s e m b l e s wood. If that i s c o r r e c t , it m u s t have been i m ­por ted from the mainland of South A m e r i c a . In Aruba t h e r e i s no t r e e with b lack wood while local wood wou ldn ' t l a s t for c e n t u r i e s l ike th i s cup which i s s t i l l v e r y sol id.

BOERSTRA 127

On top of an incomple te bu r i a l at Savaneta , consis t ing of a skull and a bundle of long bones , w a s a bowl wi th rounded bot tom and a flat round d i sc of c e r a m i c m a t e r i a l (Fig . 3). The d isc i s about 2 cm thick and 30 in d i a m e t e r , made of f i red clay, t e m p e r e d with q u a r t z , and roughly m a d e . On one side a r e t r a c e s of blackening by f i r e . It s e e m s highly p robab le that th i s w a s used as a baking p la te or g r idd le . The bowl, in a m o r e or l e s s upr ight pos i t ion , w a s without t r a c e s of any con ten t s . This i s the bes t example of an incomple te - ske le ton bu r i a l that m o s t definitely had not been damaged s ince the bur i a l took p l a c e .

Thus the skeleton b u r i a l s p r e s e n t an enigmat ic p i c t u r e . Until m o r e dating has been done and, m a y b e , unt i l p r o p e r m e a s u r e m e n t s of the bones have been m a d e that could give m o r e informat ion on d i f ferences in t i m e and, poss ib ly , on the kind of popula t ion- - they do not seem to follow a r e g u l a r p a t t e r n , except that they all belong to inhumat ions of whole or p a r ­t ia l human bodies which have in common that they w e r e bur ied with bended a r m s and k n e e s . No t r a c e wha t soeve r of c r ema t ion has been not iced.

Of the second type , the p r i m a r y u r n b u r i a l s , we have come a c r o s s 21 of which 8 a r e f r agmen ta ry . I p r e f e r to cal l an u r n bu r i a l f r agmen ta ry when t h e r e a r e some p i e c e s of u r n s , eas i ly recognizab le because the s h e r d s a r e ve ry thick, t o g e t h e r with skeleton m a t e r i a l ; and non- f r agmen ta ry when at l eas t the bot tom u rn , containing the skeleton, i s found comple te and in si tu. Of the 13 n o n - f r a g m e n t a r y u r n b u r i a l s , 3 could be cal led comple te , a s the top u r n w a s m o r e or l e s s p r e s e r v e d and m o r e or l e s s in si tu. In situ h e r e , of c o u r s e , m e a n s st i l l being in the a s s u m e d posi t ion as left by the people who put the object t h e r e . At two of the t h r ee comple te b u r i a l s the top u r n w a s broken and p r e s s e d down as de sc r ibed above (Fig. 5), at one the bot tom u r n w a s b roken and the top one sunk down into it (Fig. 8). Only the e x t r e m e top p a r t w a s damaged . Example s of non- f r agmen ta ry u r n b u r i a l s a r e shown in F ig . 9.

Child b u r i a l s have been found in u r n s only. One w a s a comple te b u r i a l . The i r u r n s a r e cons iderab ly s m a l l e r than those containing skele tons of adu l t s . The l a r g e s t d i a m e t e r i s no m o r e than 40 cm; total height of the two u r n s put on top of each o ther , as r e c o n s t r u c t e d , no m o r e than 60. Urns of adult b u r i a l s can be twice as l a r g e , in al l d i r e c t i o n s .

Urns a r e c rude ly m a d e with rough wa l l s 2 cm thick, c o a r s e quar tz t e m p e r , and f i red at a r e la t ive ly low t e m p e r a t u r e . The outer surface has been smoothed a l i t t l e , except for the r i m p a r t w h e r e s o m e t i m e s i r r e g u l a r hor izonta l l ines have been model led by p r e s s i n g down each coil of c lay a bit over the outs ide of the one below F i g u r e 9.

Two adjacent , adult , comple te u r n b u r i a l s p r e s e n t a s t r ange phenomenon. One could have been usual ; the o the r , however , ce r ta in ly w a s not . On top of the bu r i a l with the unbroken top (Fig. 9, right) another v e s s e l s e e m s to have been put. Although m o r e than half of it had d i sappeared , it obviously w a s a shallow bowl, m o r e than 40 cm in d i a m e t e r , made in the same technique a s the u r n s t h e m s e l v e s . It w a s found upside down on the top u rn , cover ing it like a cap . T h i s , of c o u r s e , can v e r y well r e p r e s e n t a gene ra l p r a c t i c e , but it i s unique so that any conclusion at th i s m o m e n t i s p r e m a t u r e . The other (Fig. 9, left) showed a phenome­non that i s m i s s i n g on all other u r n s . At the eas t and the wes t s ide , jus t under the r i m a zoo-morphic decora t ion , mode l led in clay, w a s a t tached. In both cases , the head i s m i s s ing and one leg b roken off. On l egs and body t h e r e a r e i m p r i n t s with a pointed tool . It i s not easy to make out which an imal i s mean t to be r e p r e s e n t e d h e r e ; but compar ing it to o ther , c o m p a r ­able examples that can be seen on f ragments of decora ted po t te ry , I am inclined to think it is a frog, [ see a l so F i g . 5, E d . ]

It i s t empt ing to d raw conclus ions about the cu l tu re of the people who d isposed of the i r dead in the ways d e s c r i b e d above. The bodies w e r e bent into a posi t ion that Can be c o m p a r e d to that of a s leeping p e r s o n or to that of a fe tus . Of c o u r s e t h e r e i s the explanation that a grave pi t i s s m a l l e r and e a s i e r to dig for a flexed body than for an ou t s t r e tched one, but th i s

128 BURYING THE DEAD IN ARUBA

mot ive , I think, does not n e c e s s a r i l y exclude the poss ib i l i ty that the posi t ion of the skeletons can a l so have a deeper meaning . The pos i t ions of the skele tons in the u r n b u r i a l s , as far as they can be r econs t ruc t ed , do not look like those of people a s l e e p , but do have a m o s t str iking r e s e m b l a n c e to a fetal posi t ion. This i m p r e s s i o n i s s t rengthened by the outs ide appearance of the comple te bur ia l ; not only is it shaped like an egg, a s a l r eady ment ioned above, but it can as wel l be compared to the shape of a womb. Why some of the b u r i a l s have gifts and o thers do not i s a m a t t e r we may never be able to explain. The gifts a r e v e r y common objec ts . Such as s imple pots and p la tes which a r e ugly, undecora ted or v e r y s imply deco ra t ed , and quite un­like the beautifully painted, finely shaped pot te ry that a l so can be found in the s i t e s . It may m e a n that the living did not want to sacr i f ice the i r beautiful objects to the dead and that the gifts have a pure ly symbolic meaning . They m a y have been s imple con t a ine r s for organic m a ­t e r i a l , l ike food, that has d i s in tegra ted in the t ime between bu r i a l and excavat ion.

I get a vague notion that the p r e h i s t o r i c people of Aruba thought about death as a form of r e b i r t h . Mater ia l iza t ion of th is belief could even go so far that the deceased w a s bur ied , not only in the at t i tude of a fe tus , but even in a set of u r n s that c lose ly r e s e m b l e a womb. They did not find it n e c e s s a r y to emphas ize the individuali ty of the deceased by putting valu­able , pe r sona l objects into the g rave , so a s to r emind the dead of who he w a s during life. It i s , then, a v e r y m a t t e r - o f - f a c t at t i tude towards death . On the other hand it can r e p r e s e n t a highly a b s t r a c t conception about death , and r e t ro spec t i ve ly about l i fe . Both a r e seen a s p a r t s of the g r ea t m y s t e r y of c rea t ion that everybody knows i s t h e r e , then as wel l a s now; but to which the u l t imate answer will be unknown, at l eas t a s long a s we a r e al ive and thinking.

L i t e r a t u r e

B o e r s t r a , Egber t H. J . 1974 P r e l i m i n a r y r e p o r t on the 1971 Ceru Noka excavat ions , Aruba , Ne ther lands

Ant i l les . P roceed ings of the Fifth In ternat ional Congres s for the Study of P r e - C o l u m b i a n Cul tu res of the L e s s e r Ant i l l e s . The Antigua Archaeo log ica l Society. Gainesvi l le , F l o r i d a .

Cruxent , J . M. , and Irving Rouse 1958-59 An Archaeologica l Chronology of Venezuela , Vols . I, II. P a n A m e r i c a n

Union. Washington, D. C.

Heekeren , H. R. van I963 P r e h i s t o r i c a l R e s e a r c h on the Is lands of Curacao , Aruba and Bona i re in I960.

Uitgaven van de "Natuurwetenschappel i jke Werkgroep Neder l andse Ant i l len" , Cu racao .

Tacoma , J . 1959 Indian Skeleton Remains from Aruba . Uitg. Nat. wet . W e r k g r . N. A. , Curacao .

Wagenaar Hummelinck, P . I959 Indiaanse skeletvondsten op Aruba en C u r a c a o . Uitg. Nat. wet . W e r k g r . N. A . ,

Curacao .

Heidecker , L o r r a i n e , and Michael I. Siegel I969 P r e l i m i n a r y Repor t on the excavation of the Henr iquez I s i t e , Tanki F l i p , Aruba,

Nether lands Ant i l l es . F lo r ida Anthropologis t , Vol. 22, Nos . 1-4, Gainesv i l l e .

BOERSTRA 129

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F ig . 1. Disco lora t ions indicating p r e h i s t o r i e p i t s .

130 BURYING THE DEAD IN ARUBA

Fig . 3 . Bur ia l of incomplete skeleton with baking pla te and v e s s e l a s g rave goods.

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132 BURYING THE DEAD IN ARUBA

Fig . 7. Bur ia l of complete skeleton with g rave gift at feet .

BOESTRA 133