Grater Teeth from Bengal, Jamaica

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”!

Grater teeth from Montpelier flint found at Bengal

Map with place names mentioned in this episode

Bengal Site, the tree in the background is close to the findspot of the grater teeth

Hayley Mickleburgh at Bengal, sieving and picking up everything of importance.

The lovely Rio Bueno river, near to where it exits in the bay

Further information:

• The excellent book “Earliest Inhabitants: Dynamics of the Jamaican Taíno“, edited by Lesley-Gail Atkinson, has a chapter on the different stones used by Jamaican Amerindians.
• This paper, presented at 2015’s SAA conference by Hayley Mickleburgh and Angus Mol has some more information on the fieldwork done at the site and its historical contexts.
• You can’t access the site itself, but you can go tubing on the Rio Bueno river. As long as you can swim, it is refreshingly recommended!
• Channel 5 employee and longtime listener Andre Marsden notified us about this item about the use of grater teeth in contemporary Belize!

Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @theshoresoftime if you ever had cassave bread and what you think of its taste. We’d also love to know how we can improve the way we share the stories of the Caribbean and its objects, so don’t hesitate to give us advice and tips!

We’ll speak to you next time, and remember: In this great future you can’t forget your past!

Acknowledgements: This podcast was made possible thanks to financial support by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Alice is employed by University of Leicester’s School of Ancient History and Archaeology and Angus works at Stanford University’s Archaeology Center. The excavations at Bengal were financed as part of the ERC-Synergy NEXUS1492 project. We thank Anne and Martin Hopwood for kindly allowing us to excavate on their beautiful property.