Maisabel is an important Saladoid, pre-Taino and Taino site on the north-central coast of Puerto Rico. It is located in an area of the island rich in lagoons and wetlands. The site covers about 20 ha and is well-known for its impressive cemetery. The occupation of Maisabel spans between ca. 300-200 BC to AD 1000.
Maisabel has been long known for the elegant white-on-red ceramics, typical of the Saladoid culture phase, which pothunters looted from its cemetery and structures for local collectors. Finally in the 1970s and 1980s archaeological excavations were carried out by different archaeologists and local institutions.
Maisabel Settlement Layout and Organization
In its earlier phases, Maisabel was a circular village with a cemetery at its center surrounded by a dense area of midden mounds. The central position of the cemetery probably reflected the important role played by this communal feature in the lives of its inhabitants. The area where the communal cemetery was located probably served also as plaza or, more in general, as a ritual and ceremonial space.
Maisabel Cemetery
The communal cemetery occupied a large area at the center of the village. About 20 burials have been excavated, but archaeologists estimate that the cemetery likely contains more than a hundred. In the early Ceramic period, the so-called Saladoid phase, the cemetery played an important role as community bonding as well as ritual and social public space.
However, around AD 600-800, the central area seems to change use. Burials were not placed in the communal space but inside and near the single houses or around the plaza; only a few individuals were buried in the cemetery.
Finally, the central area does not show evidence of residential use after this period and may have been turned into a ceremonial plaza or a ball court. All these elements indicate a shift toward a more kinship-oriented social organization, which replaced the previous sense of community.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Caribbean, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Saunders Nicholas J., 2005, The Peoples of the Caribbean. An Encyclopedia of Archaeology and Traditional Culture. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California.
Wilson, Samuel, 2007, the Archaeology of the Caribbean, Cambridge World Archaeology Series. Cambridge University Press, New York.