West African Tradition in the Decoration of Colonial Jamaican Folk Pottery

In the early colonial period, Jamaican slaves manufactured pottery that incorporated traditional West African technology with selected European innovations. Recent examination of Afro-Jamaican wares from the seventeenth-century site of Port Royal suggests that the decorative elements are consistent with those that are in wide use among West African pottery traditions, particularly those of the Gold Coast (Ghana). Stamped designs prevail as the clearest example of this continuity. Potential Amerindian contributions to the Jamaican folk pottery industry during this period are considered and shown to be unlikely. The isolation of decorative traits demonstrates how certain craft elements of West African peoples were transported to the New World and integrated with other cultural traditions. It also corroborates the documentary record pertaining to the geographical origin of Jamaican slaves during the early colonial period.