Lucayan Legacies: Indigenous lifeways in The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands

The book explores the Lucayan legacies of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands, encompassing the heritage of the people who lived there from the 8th to the 16th centuries. It highlights the material culture of the Lucayans, which is often overlooked and marginalized. The book aims to integrate this legacy into the narratives of the past and address topics such as the first occupations, island-by-island reviews, and Lucayan lifeways. It also explores new directions this heritage is taking through the work of contemporary Bahamian and TCI artists.

Format: Hardback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 09 March 2023
Publisher: Sidestone Press

The book delves into the rich legacy of the Lucayans, who inhabited the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands from the 8th to the 16th centuries. This legacy encompasses not only the physical artifacts left behind but also the historical and archaeological significance of the region. The book highlights the importance of preserving and understanding this heritage, which has been threatened by development and climate change. The author emphasizes the need to integrate the surviving Lucayan heritage into the narratives of the past to ensure its preservation for future generations. The book includes a comprehensive collection of artifacts, many of which have been acquired between 1850 and 1950, before the field of professional archaeology emerged in the region. These collections are largely unknown to archaeologists, local island communities, and the wider public. The author aims to bring these collections to light and reinstate the material culture of the Lucayans as an important part of the region's archaeological heritage. However, the development of the islands since the 17th century has led to the loss of much of the earlier heritage, with a rate of destruction that has accelerated in recent decades due to human activity and global climate change. This has resulted in the marginalization of many of the most elaborate artifacts ever found on the islands, which were often discovered through early guano mining and cave exploration. The book highlights the need to take stock of the surviving Lucayan heritage and integrate it back into the narratives of the past to ensure its preservation for future generations.

Dimension: 279 x 203 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789464261028