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Cousin's Cove |
| Cousin's Cove, a small inlet along the Hanover coastline, is unknown to most tourists, but is as important to Jamaican heritage as it is beautiful. In the mid-seventeenth century, as part of the Cromwellian system of land grants for military service, one John Samuels acquired a parcel that included the pristine, secluded cove. Samuels, who arrived in the West Indies after fleeing the law in England, named the cove in honour of his cousin, Frances, whom he married. Samuels and his bride found new freedom and prosperity in the colony, where he built a stately home and maintained a productive plantation.
Interestingly enough, archaeological work in the area is not centred on the great house ruins, but rather focused on the material evidence of Taino occupation, which is extremely rare in the western Caribbean as a result of centuries of colonialism. Recently, investigations by the University of the West Indies Archaeology Department revealed a burial ground and some cave paintings by the Tainos, the pre-Colombian indigenous people of Jamaica. At the burial ground, valuable discoveries, such as the unearthing of the remains of a young Taino, offer support to the theory that the Tainos were technologically more advanced than their distant cousins, the Arawaks of South America. Since the initial finding, numerous pottery shards, carvings and paintings have been discovered, giving the scientists insights into the lifestyle and traditions of this now extinct race. |
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