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Glossary
Afro-Caribbean ware: An earthenware ceramic type produced locally by slaves for domestic consumption as well as for trade.
Andrew Doria: While flying the flag of the newly formed United States, this brigantine was saluted by the guns of Fort Oranje in St. Eustatius. The salute proved to be both the first official recognition of the United States by a foreign power and the final straw that forced the English Navy under Rodney to invade and sack the island in February 1781.
ArcView©: A GIS computer program written by the ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Incorporated) utilized by Archaeologists in spatial analyses. It is considered to be the industry standard GIS program.
Artifact (Artefact) : In its broadest definition, any object that has been modified by a human being.
Artifact (Artefact) Cataloguing: The process by which excavated Artifacts are identified and recorded for future reference.
Feature: Any architecturally related object revealed by archaeological excavation. Features may include any object from post-holes to the pyramids at Giza, Egypt.
Fluxgate gradiometer: A machine that reads and records variations in the magnetic field across an archaeological landscape. Readings are combined to form a "picture" of the magnetic field on a site thereby allowing archaeologists to identify both features and artifact concentrations.
Fort Oranje: The primary defensive fortification on St. Eustatius located in Oranjestad and overlooking Oranje Bay where ships landing cargo could be protected.
Geophysical Survey: A low impact method of locating archaeological features in the landscape. Generally, a machine capable of "looking" under the soil surface is utilized. Such machines include ground penetrating radar, fluxgate gradiometers and soil resistivity meters.
GIS (Geographic Information System): In archaeology, artifacts and features are related to two inseparable physical existences--time and space. GIS programs are designed to communicate both spatial and time related facts in an easy to read format. Interactive maps are produced which allow the viewer to obtain information about specific archaeological sites and specific areas of these sites.
Mechanical sifter: A motorized device used to process excavated soil in order to recover artifacts. Typically an electric motor is used to provide motive power which is converted into mechanical energy to shake a screen. Excavated soil can thus be more efficiently sifted when compared to sifting soil by hand.
Netherlands Antilles: The Dutch dependency consisting of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Maarten and St. Eustatius. The Capital is Willemstad in Curacao.
Open area excavation: Archaeological excavation involving the simultaneous removal of soil layers across the entire site. The method allows archaeologists to "see" each layer as it would have appeared while being deposited.
Oranjestad: The only city on the island of St. Eustatius. It overlooks Oranje Bay on the southwest coast of the island.
Rodney, Admiral Sir George Brydges: The British officer responsible for the invasion and sacking of St. Eustatius in February 1781. The resulting booty was the largest taken during the 18th Century during any wartime act by any European power. He subsequently lost the island to the French in November 1781.
Soil resistivity meter: A machine that reads and records variations in electrical resistivity of soil across an archaeological landscape. Readings are combined to form a "picture" of the soil resistance on a site thereby allowing archaeologists to identify both features and artifact concentrations. For example, areas with a high resistance may be indicative of such features as stone or brick walls.
Sugar Processing: The series of manufacturing steps involved in the production of sugar. After harvesting of the cane, it was crushed between rollers to extract the sugar rich juices. These juices were then boiled down to a thick syrup in a series of large kettles called a sugar train. Finally, came the drying stage where the supersaturated syrup was poured into cone-shaped molds allowing the molasses to drain out and leaving a cone of sugar behind.
Surface Collection: A sampling technique used by archaeologists to obtain a broad perspective of artifact diversity and spatial relations on a site. Artifacts are collected directly from the soil surface and their location is recorded.
Total Station: A device that accurately measures and records elevations and distances on an archaeological site utilizing lasers or infra-red light reflected off of a mirror.
Trash midden: An area where household or industrial refuse was disposed in previous times. Artifacts recovered from middens provide much insight into daily life including food consumption and manufacturing activities.
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