White Marl Taino Midden and Museum (Central Village)

Established in 1965 in memory of Dr. Randolph Howard, a distinguished American archaeologist, the museum was built in the shape of a Taino Hut and forms part of the Amerindian Research Centre. Together with a Midden it is considered a most valuable Taino site in Jamaica and one of the most important in the Caribbean.

Excavations of burial grounds on the hill have located the remains of a number of adults and a child. These skeletons are largely still in good condition. The burial sites are thought to range in age from seven hundred to one thousand years, and pre-date the arrival of Columbus by several hundred years.

Included in the wealth of objects unearthed are pottery, wood carvings, jewellery, amulets, bones of animals on which the Taino fed, eating and cooking utensils. All these objects are now stored in the museum and are contributing to the understanding of the way of life and customs of a vanished race.

Adapted from www.jnht.com/heritage_site.php?id=247