Unique Lucayan sand dune burials at the Rolling Heads site, Long Island, The Bahamas

Abstract

The skeletal remains of nearly 100 Indigenous Bahamians, called Lucayans, have been recovered in the Bahama archipelago (Lucayan Islands). Until now, virtually, all were recovered from wet and dry caves, caverns, and blue holes, most of which lacked specific evidence for mortuary practices. In the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015, two human crania were found on Lowe's Beach, Long Island, The Bahamas. In addition, two burial areas were identified in the face of the adjacent, north-facing, Atlantic coast sand dune. The human remains were identified as Indigenous Lucayans based on the intentional fronto-occipital modification of the crania. These are the first open-air, sand dune burials to be excavated systematically in The Bahamas, and they provide new insights regarding Lucayan burial practices and lifeways. This article describes the unique environmental and cultural contexts of Lucayan individuals who were buried at the Rolling Heads site. The local geomorphology reflects long-term processes of dune erosion and remodeling that suggest that an unknowable number of additional individuals were buried at the site. The physical characteristics and mortuary practices are different from those observed elsewhere in the Caribbean, highlighting regional diversity and local practices. They raise the question of why different portals were used to transmit the dead to their afterlife. Finally, these individuals are contributing to regional studies assessing biological and cultural identities through genome-wide DNA, phenotypic morphometrics, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope reconstruction of diet, strontium isotope assessment of origins, and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating to evaluate the timing of human dispersal across the Bahama archipelago. The Lucayans did not survive the Spanish invasion, but there is much to be learned from their remains.