On Wednesday 4th December 2019, Caribbean Ties opened at the Saba Heritage Center, Windwardside.
Opening Caribbean Ties at the Saba Heritage Center (photos courtesy of T. Sankatsing Nava).
St. Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten/Saint Martin were once home to a succession of different Indigenous cultures. The earliest Indigenous site of these three islands has been found on Saba, dating to around 1950 BC. The Golden Rock site on St. Eustatius has a well-known Saladoid Amerindian settlement site dating between 200 – 1000 AD. On Sint Maarten, small coastal villages of Indigenous peoples are known at Cupecoy and Philipsburg, while on Saint Martin, larger Amerindian villages are found both along the coast at Grand Case, Red Bay, Orient Bay, and in the interior at Hope Estate. Material remains, such as pottery, shell, bone, and stone tools, that were left behind by these various Indigenous groups and can still be found at many of these sites.
Hofman, C.L. & M.L.P. Hoogland, 2016. Saba’s first inhabitants; A story of 3300 years of Amerindian occupation prior to European contact (1800 BC- AD 1492). Sidestone Press, Leiden.