The Cemetery of Santa Cruz 35: Initial Results
Fifteen years ago, a grave site was discovered during construction in a residential area of Santa Cruz, Aruba. NEXUS 1492 and the National Archaeological Museum Aruba (NAMA) partnered to analyse the remains. Last week Prof. Dr. Corinne Hofman and Prof. Dr. Menno Hoogland (NEXUS 1492) and Drs. Raymundo Dijkhoff (NAMA) presented the initial results of the investigation.
A Catholic Cemetery
According to Raymundo Dijkhoff, head archaeologist of the NAMA, the results of this collaboration can have strong implications for the local understanding of the history of Aruba. Until today, the chapel of Alto Vista was believed to be the oldest Catholic church on the island. However, the graveyard found in Santa Cruz in 2001 suggests that this might not be the case.
The cemetery of Santa Cruz 35 has been dated to the period between 1730 and 1810. Based on the way in which the bodies were buried and in particular on the placement of the hands, the researchers conclude that Santa Cruz 35 was a Catholic cemetery.
This has important implications: a Catholic cemetery suggests the presence of a church nearby: perhaps one that pre-dates the chapel of Alto Vista from 1750. The archaeological site is only 500 meters away from the church of Santa Cruz, which is in use today.
Mixed Society
The human remains buried in the site are an important source of information: their age, gender, body size, health and ethnicity tells us a lot about their ancestry and circumstances they lived in. The archaeologists also analysed the origins of the buried: where they were from and where they were born.
Festivities after the presentation at NAMAInterestingly, some of the human remains found in the graveyard are of mixed ethnicity: descendants of indigenous peoples who mixed with the Europeans. Before 1754, only a handful of Europeans were known to have been on the southwest side of the island. These 15 to 20 people, it was believed, did not mate with the indigenous population.
“The project brings new information and changes how we see the interactions between different ethnic groups in 18th century Aruban society. It also highlights social systems that were not previously investigated: perhaps there was a settlement in this area of the island”, explains Dijkhoff.
