Ripley Bullen's Grenada Ceramic Typology

About

This webpage is part of a collaborative project to provide greater accessibility to Grenada’s pre-Columbian archaeological collections. It was developed during an internship with the Grenada National Museum to assist with their cataloging project and 3D scanning archaeological materials to provide digital resources for synthesizing cultural heritage materials that are disjointed by separate collection and analysis. This portion of the project includes materials from Ripley Bullen's Grenada Ceramic Typology Collection housed with the Florida Museum of Natural History's Caribbean Archaeology Program.

Ripley Bullen began systematic excavations in Grenada during the 1960s and artifacts from these early excavations are still housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Ripley Bullen published his ceramic typology in 1964 and included black and white photos of the collection. Presented here, are new, color photos of his Grenada typology that reveal greater detail and can be used for further research and education.

A digital copy of Ripley Bullen's 1964 report is freely available on the Digital Library of the Caribbean. Click on the title below to access the report. NOTE: Not all of the artifacts Bullen identified are presented in this exhibit because he left a portion of site assemblages in Grenada and some remain in private collections.

The Archaeology of Grenada, West Indies

Plate I. PEARLS WHITE PAINTED SHERDS. Black Painted Interior (5, #9 in Bullen 1964. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97992,97993,97995, and 97996. Plate V. PEARLS CROSS HATCHED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97991, 97993, 97994, 97995. Plate IX. MISCELLANEOUS SPECIMENS FROM PEARLS. Polychrome(1 & 3, 5 & 7 in Bullen 1964), Flanged (2 & 4, originally #'s 9 & 12 in Bullen 1964), White Painted (5, #10 in Bullen 1964), and Ringed Bowl (6, #13 in Bullen 1964). FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97990 and 97994.
Plate II. PEARLS RIM LUGGED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97990, 97994, 97995, and 97996. Plate VI. MISCELLANEOUS INCISED SHERDS. Pearls Inner Rim Incised (1-8) and Incised Bowl (9-10); Simon Zone Painted (11), Lip Incised (12-13), and Broad Lined Incised (14). FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97986, 97990, 97993, and 97995. Plate X. SIMON AND SALINE WIDE HANDLED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98003, 98004, and 97995.
Plate III. PEARLS RIM ADORNED SHERDS (Sub-types 1 and 2). FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97991, 97992,97995, and 97996. Plate VII. PEARLS ROD HANDLED AND SIDE HANDLED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97990, 97993,and 97995. Plate XI. PEARLS AND SIMON WIDE HANDLED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97990, 97991, 97994, and 97995.
Plate IV. PEARLS RIM ADORNED SHERDS (Sub-types 3 and 4). FLMNH Acc. 97992, 97993, 97994, 97995, and 97996. Plate VIII. PEARLS SIDE LUGGED, SIMON FLANGED AND BROAD LINE INCISED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98004, 97990, 97991, 97992, 97994, 97995, 97996. Plate XII. MISCELLANEOUS SPECIMENS FROM PEARLS. Caliviny Unique Adorned (1), Clay Anvil (2, #3 in Bullen 1964), and Clay Discs (3-4, #s 4-5 Bullen 1964). FLMNH Acc. Nos. 97991, 97994, 97997
Plate XIII. SIMON NECK DECORATED AND PEARLS WATER BOTTLE SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98002, 97990, 97994, 97995, and 97996. Plate XVIII. CALIVINY POLYCHROME SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98015 and 97997. Plate XXII. SPECIMEN FROM SAVANNE SUAZEY. Animal Head Adorno (3 in Bullen 1964). FLMNH Acc. No. 98011.
Plate XIV. GRIDDLE SHERDS. Griddle-Adorno (1), Griddle-Incised Leaf Impressed (2),Griddle Incised (3-4), Griddle (5 & 12), Griddle-Type B Plain (6),Griddle-Rim Lug (7), Griddle-Type A Plain (8), Griddle-Type C (9), Griddle Suazey (10), Griddle Red-Painted(11), Griddle-Basket Impressed (13). FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98014, 98011, 97990, 97991, 97992, 97994, 97995, and 97996. Plate XIX. CALIVINY PAINTED PLATE, DECORATED BASIN, AND WESTERHALL RED-PAINTED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98000, 98013, and 98015. Plate XXIII. POTTERY FROM SAVANNE SUAZEY. Scratched (#5 in Bullen 1964). FLMNH Acc. No. 98013.
Plate XVI. SALINE FLANGED AND FLANGE INCISED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98002, 98003, and 98004. Plate XX. MISCELLANEOUS SPECIMENS, CALIVINY ISLAND AND WESTERHALL SITES. Suazey Scratched Bowl (1, 2 in Bullen 1964) and Caliviny Pedestal Bowl Bases (2-3, 6-7 in Bullen 1964). FLMNH Acc. No. 98014, 98013, and 97997. Griddle -Incised Griddle Sherd from Plate XIV showing leaf impression (not shown in Bullen 1964). FLMNH Acc. No. 97992.
Plate XVII. CALIVINY RIM MODIFIED SHERDS. FLMNH Acc. Nos. 98009, 98013, 98014, and 97997. Plate XXI. CLAY SPECIMEN FROM CLAIVINY ISLAND. Caliviny Unique Adorned (3 in Bullen 1964). FLMNH Acc. No. 97997.
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Resources

FLMNH-Caribbean Archaeology Program Archaeology of Grenada The Digital Library of the Caribbean

Acknowledgments

This project would not have been possible without the enthusiasm, guidance, and support of my colleague Jonathan A. Hanna and John Pitt at the Grenada National Museum. Additional thanks goes to William F. Keegan for facilitating access to collections housed with the Florida Museum of Natural History's Caribbean Archaeology Program and most importantly to the people of Grenada for sharing their heritage with the world.