The site Anse à la Gourde is located on what is called a littoral terrace – a platform located in the tidal zones – on the easternmost part of Grande Terre, Guadeloupe, on a peninsula reaching eastwards into the ocean. The first mention of Anse à la Gourde was by Edgar Clerc and Maurice Barbotin, when they performed some test-pits. In 1975 the first excavation was carried out by Pierre Verin. After that the site was extensively excavated by Leiden University in collaboration with the Service Régional de l’Archéologie de la Guadeloupe, the Direction Regional des Affaires Culturelles and the director at that time, André Delpuech, between 1995 and 2000.
When looking at settlements from the past, archaeologists often try to understand how well the location can be defended from possible threats, like competing settlements from other people in the surrounding area, or climatic challenges. The site of Anse à la Gourde is located on an elongated piece of land reaching out into the sea from the rest of the island, the peninsula of Pointe des Chateaux. Considering the location of Anse à la Gourde, the site could only be approached from inland.
Because it was a coastal settlement, sea level rise might have been problematic for the site. However, since the site is located on top of dunes of up to 4 meters high and was protected by a reef just in front of the coastline to calm the tides, the sea level would have had to rise drastically in order to pose a problem. The people at Anse à la Gourde could probably sustain themselves with little needs from inland regions because they were close to the ocean. Behind these dunes, a small lowered area is located which is covered by vegetation and thus offers some protection from the climate in the region, particularly the harsh sun. Moving beyond this small lowered area you will eventually reach the highest part of this piece of land, reaching to about 21 meters above sea level. These aspects of the landscape contribute to how safe the location of Anse à la Gourde is.
Traditional farmers rely on cultivating crops and growing their own food. Since Anse à la Gourde is located in a special environment, being one of the most arid spots throughout the whole archipelago of Guadeloupe, the possibility to live as traditional farmers was very limited. The people of Anse à la Gourde primarily had to rely on other ways to get food. Easy access to the ocean around them provided good conditions to fish, so it is probable that the people at Anse à la Gourde were fishing as a way to get food. Because stone tools for the processing of foods were found, we assume that the people at Anse à la Gourde also ate crops. But with the climatic circumstances in mind, the amount of grown crops available must have been limited. Eventually, because the climate was so dry, people likely left the site.
Anse à la Gourde is classified by archaeologists as a ring village, examples of which are known from across the Caribbean. A ring village is, as the name suggests, a village in a circular shape, often centered around a plaza. On the plaza a special structure can be located, like for example at Argyle, St. Vincent, or it could serve as a cemetery.
Text by Koen van Rijn, based on original published research (see further reading).
Delpuech, A., Hofman, C. L. and Hoogland, M. L. P., 2001. Excavations at the site of Anse a la Gourde, Organisation, history and environmental setting.
Grouard, S., 1999. Faunal remains associated with Late Saladoïd and Post-Saladoïd occupations at Anse à la Gourde, Guadeloupe, west Indies: Preliminary results. Archaeofauna 10, 71-98.
Lammers-Keijsers, Y. M. J., 2007. Tracing Traces from Present to Past a functional analysis of pre-Columbian shell and stone artefacts from Anse à la Gourde and Morel, Guadeloupe.
Samson, A. V. M., 2010. Renewing the House. Trajectories of social life in the yucayeque (community) of El Cabo, Higüey, Dominican Republic, AD 800-1504.
Siegel, P.E., 2010. Continuity and change in the evolution of religion and political organisation on pre-Columbian Puerto Rico. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29, 302-326.