A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects

We talk about real and totally not April Foolish Redondan coins. Although as with any joke, if you carry on for too long it becomes difficult to distinguish fact from fiction, and this particular one has been running for over 100 years! Will Alice and Angus make it out the labyrinth of kings, boobies and guano that is the island of Redonda? Listen to this episode of aHotC in 100 Objects!

We're back! This time we are featuring two Cuban idols: the Idolo del Tabaco and Fidel Castro. Both this object and leader are symbols of larger historical processes that have some positive aspects but are also deeply problematic. Care to find out what happens if Alice and Angus try to be topical and political? (Spoiler: they end up releasing the topical episode a couple of months after the fact.) Want to know how you can smoke yourself to the top, why hammocks and cigars are a historical combo, or how the Maya 20 day-count has a big influence on one of the hardest to kick habits of today? Listen to this all new episode of A History in the Caribbean in 100 Objects!

We start out with Alice chatting about the weather and Angus apologizing for one of his very rude namesakes. Beware though: the rest of the episode is going to be much more volatile as we discuss Caribbean hurricanes and objects related to them. Why does the cave painting found by Alice and her team on Isla Mona look like a person at a dance rave? What did people do in the past when they were hit by a hurricane? Find out this and more in this week's episode of aHotC in 100 Objects. Please consider making a donation to the Haiti Support Group as a show of solidarity with the people of Haiti who have been hit by Hurricane Matthew: http://haitisupportgroup.org/

The special item on the menu today is Hutía. This fluffy animal is about the size of a cat, with teeth the size of toothpicks. Aside from being the largest land mammal in the Caribbean islands, and being cute as bunnies, many people in the past as well as today also consider them to be highly edible. It seemed only fair that one of them decided to return the favor and take a big bite out of the leg of Angus his sister. Want to know the full story behind this Hutía attack and find out more about the complex relations these animals have with us humans, listen to this episode of A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects!

Alice and Angus go batsh*t crazy over this carved, bone object. But what do bats have to do with the ghosts of the dead, vomit, spiritual assaults, and archaeologists running away screaming like little girls? Find out in this spooohoooky Halloween episode of a HotC in 100 Objects!

We're back! After a nice long summer break, Alice and Angus are once again ready to talk you through what is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating of Caribbean objects: the Pigorini Zemie. What is a Pigorini? What is a Zemie? What does this have to do with Rome and rhinos? If you want to know, we kindly invite you to strap on your object-powered, time-travelling goggles and explore this episode of a History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects!

In this episode Alice stamps out Angus his silly belief that these brown, decorated discs are cookies. At least he was not as wrong as those silly 16th century Spaniards when they claimed the indigenous people of the Caribbean went about naked. Want to know more about how these untruths and other colourful facts of pre-colonial life connect? Listen to this episode of A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects!

Help yourself to a giant beakful of Caribbean history as we talk pelicans past and present with John Crock. As you will hear John has a voice that was made to be on the radio, but fortunately for us he would rather do archaeology on Anguilla, where he found this week's object: a pelican bowl. Is it coincidence it was found one of the most beautiful beaches on earth? Why does this round-bellied bowl have pelican iconography and what are some of the other important sites on this small, yet friendly and archaeologically important island? Find out right now! PS Sadly this marks the end of our SAA interviews. We are also still on our summer schedule, which means we will be back with a regular but hopefully equally riveting episode in 2 weeks.

Buckle up! This week we look at an early 19th century military buckle from the Cabrits on Dominica, AKA the Gibraltar of the Caribbean, the Unfortunate Garrison or the Black Garrison. Why was this fortress known by the latter name? And why was an ornament of the West India Regiment left in a wattle and daub structure in the vicinity of this mighty fortress, together with a needle, glass bottles, French crockery and some other assorted finds? Fortunately, Alice and Angus are joined by Zachary Beier who found this object and the answers to our questions. Want to learn something about the surprising military and social history this object was witness to? Listen to this week's episode of A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects! P.S. A HotC in 100 Objects will be moving to a bi-weekly release schedule for the summer months. We are planning to be back with a weekly release schedule in September.

Two for the price of one this week! We talk with Dr. Jorge Ulloa about two figurines from Cuba, found exactly one year apart in the same cave in Antilla, Holguín, One is called Taguabo, the other Maicabo. Want to find out why these objects that look so different still belong together? Want to know more about some of Cuba's syncretic religious traditions and how Amerindian objects figure into this? Want to find out how you can make it rain or shine on command? Listen to this episode of A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects!

Archaeologists don't dig for coins, but we do dig coins! This object we are talking about is a relatively common coin from 1806, which has nonetheless a very special story to tell. With us to tell this story is Todd Ahlman. Want to know why colonial imperial economies and local island economies are just two sides of the same coin and how entrepreneurship and enslavement could go hand in hand? Listen to this week's episode of A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects! http://www.shoresoftime.com/portfolios/episode-8-a-coin/

Take out your magnifying glass and inspect this beauteously blue bead. This object may be small, but it has become the symbol of an entire island: the Dutch Caribbean St. Eustatius, also known as the Historic Gem. Why did beads like this become a marker of wealth? Why can they be found in their thousands in a place called Blue Bead Hole? Join Alice, Angus and their first ever podcast guest, Joost Morsink, to learn about this and much more in this week's episode of "A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects!" See http://www.shoresoftime.com/portfolios/episode-7/ for more info and illustrations.

In this episode Alice and Angus find themselves on a bit of a slippery slope as they have to make sense of a Greenstone Frog. Why is it that we can find highly similar objects all across the Caribbean islands and mainlands and even further afield? And why have these objects been connected to femininity and nurturing by some scholars? Find out in a new episode of "A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects!"

Three statues of three men stand in unison in a symbolically laden place in the centre of Santo Domingo: The Museo del Hombre. Who are they? Why are they there? What do they have to do with the Dominican cultural psyche and the history of the Caribbean? Alice and Angus answer this and more during this new episode of "A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects."

At first glance, Angus isn't very impressed by an iron axe that Alice says looks like a muddy potato. However first impressions can be deceiving and it quickly becomes clear there is more to this axe than meets the eye. Want to know what? Listen to a whole new episode of "A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects"! Check http://www.shoresoftime.com/portfolios/episode-4-an-iron-petaloid-axe/ for more illustrations and background info

This week Alice and Angus are having a friendly yet sharp discussion on grater teeth. Curious what these teeth would have been grating and what they have to do with the Rio Bueno in Jamaica, maggoty bread and chocolate gifts? Listen to this episode of "A History of the Caribbean in 100 Objects"! See http://www.shoresoftime.com/portfolios/episode-3/ for illustrations and more info!

In this episode we will discuss the ceramic faces that adorned the rims, handles and walls of pots made by the indigenous people of the Caribbean. The object that is central to this episode comes from the Brighton Beach site on St. Vincent. Listen to us talk about the iconography, symbolism and archaeological context of this beautiful example of these quintessentially pre-colonial objects. Also we will explain why a Saladoid is not a type of dressing, but one of the major cultural phenomena of the Caribbean in the first millennia BC and AD. See http://www.shoresoftime.com/portfolios/episode-2/ for more illustrations and info

In the very first episode of this podcast Alice and Angus discuss the guaíza, an enigmatic artefact excavated at El Cabo de San Rafael on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic. Have a listen and find out how this object was used to bring people together, during the earliest colonial encounter as well as today! See http://www.shoresoftime.com/portfolios/episode-1/ for illustration and further reading!

In this introductory episode we introduce ourselves, our research and why we want to reach out to you with our perspective on the fascinating history of the beautiful Caribbean Islands as told through its objects. See http://www.shoresoftime.com/portfolios/episode-0/ for more info!