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11 Contextual Analysis of the Lesser Antillean Windward Islands Petroglyphs Methods and Results Sofia Jönsson Marquet Introduction Rock art sites in the Lesser Antilles have long been known, as well as being the object of investigation by various individuals (Dubelaar 1995). Most of this area’s rock art research can be characterized as descriptive. Data such as the geographical locations of the sites and the recording of the engraved images are made the focus of studies. Normally, minimal interpretation of the iconography or the rock art’s relevance to the sociopolitical and religious components of local cultures is advanced. Contextual analysis, I argue, offers a means to expand our higher-order understanding of rock art in the Lesser Antilles,as it has in other regions (see, for example, Díaz-Granados Duncan 1993). In contextual analysis, the focus is placed on viewing rock images as integral parts of their physical and cultural contexts, instead of as isolated elements (see Jönsson Marquet 2002 for an extended presentation). Specifically, in this chapter I aim: 1.To highlight the significance of investigating rock art as a complement to other archaeological data,using as a case study the petroglyphs of the Lesser Antillean Windward Islands. 2.To examine the possible presence of a distinctiveWindward Islands petroglyph patterning. These islands have been considered a homogenous cultural area based on the use and production of similar ceramic styles. A contextual analysis approach should provide a means to identify a parallel arrangement of these islands’ petroglyph assemblages. 3. To establish a spatial-temporal framework for the petroglyphs through cross-referencing petroglyph and other cultural component data. Changes in petroglyph design elements and motifs can be expected to correlate with archaeologically detectable changes in sociopolitical and religious organi- 148 / Jönsson Marquet zation. Two factors for the southern Lesser Antilles, however, may mitigate against making any such linkages: (1) the symbols or iconography of cultures,including rock art,tend to be resistant to changes even in the face of differing sociopolitical and environmental contexts; (2) at present the sociopolitical organization of the area also appears to have been very stable, even though distinct changes in other cultural aspects took place,as in pottery styles.Throughout the Early and Late Ceramic periods, societies can be characterized as largely egalitarian, dominated by a “big man” system with a low degree of social differentiation (Boomert 2001).This stands in contrast to the increasing sociopolitical development in the Greater Antilles in the Late Ceramic, where a two-tiered division into elites and commoners and complex chiefdoms were evident by the end-periodTaíno cultures (see Hayward, Atkinson, and Cinquino, Introduction, this volume). I chose to concentrate my research on four of theWindward Islands:Grenada , St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and Martinique (see Figure 1.1, this volume). They were selected for their geographical proximity to the South American continent, the origin for the Lesser Antillean Ceramic Age populations, and for their common geological volcanic origin. Standardization of the database through selection of prehistoric societies that shared a similar origin and range of environmental possibilities should reduce the number of variables that would help explain any differences in petroglyph patterning. While all four islands possess petroglyph sites, they are not evenly distributed , as can be noted from Table 11.1. A total of 262 figures have been recorded from 26 sites comprising isolated boulders and one rockshelter. Anthropomorphic images dominate in the sample (77 percent),and of those half can be classified as simple faces. Zoomorphic and geometric designs are also present. Geometric and abstract designs not readily identifiable, while not counted due to difficulties in identifying discrete images, were nonetheless included in further analyses. No obvious chronological indicators such as superimposition or sociopolitical events are evident to aid in time-space-iconographic interpretations. Methodology The methodology involved three interrelated phases: (1) the recording of petroglyph site and image attributes,(2) the statistical analysis of the attribute database, and (3) the correlation of petroglyph sites with other site types and environmental data.Hypotheses or statements of interpretation and those regarding a chronological framework became possible after the statistical and comparative analyses. Lesser Antillean Windward Islands Petroglyphs / 149 Recording of Site Data Information obtained for each of the 26 sites included their geographical location and topographic details, the site type (boulder, rockshelter), and the number and general type of petroglyphs present, as well as the location of nearby dated prehistoric sites. Recorded data for each of the petroglyphs consisted of such attributes as...

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