A History of Caribbean Archaeology at Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University has one of the world's largest and most comprehensive archaeological collections from the Caribbean. Our objectives in this paper are to provide a brief history of Caribbean archaeology at Yale, describe the characteristics and research potential of the collections, and acknowledge the contributions of the scholars who acquired this vast archive of Caribbean prehistory. We focused on surveys, excavations and collections from 1933 to 1974 acquired as part of the Peabody's Caribbean Archaeology Program, writing historically rather than analytically, reflecting the managerial role of the authors. The information is based on Peabody Division of Anthropology records, Yale publications and personal conversations with the late Professor B. Irving Rouse.