ST. VINCENT AND GRENADINES


They have weathered or leached to a different color indicating
their relative times of deposition. That the geological processes
outlined here have continued over a long period of time is shown
by a radiocarbon date of 1940 B.C. (Sample .\ l.4-1, Crane and
Griffin 1959: 175) for a log from a volcanic mudflow deposit in tile
bank of the Rabacca Dry River some : ',I feet from the ocean (Fig.
4, southeast of 411).
 The archaeology of St. Vincent must be understood and inter-
preted in respect to its recent geological history. There has occurred
a series of volcanic actions, each of which has deposited varying
amounts of ash with which are frequently mixed small concretions
and rounded rocks of pebble and small boulder size. After each
eruption, rains come which erode the ash and wash much of it
away to form thick deposits in middle river valleys, sometimes
tl,..-ill- them, and on outwash plains. Artifacts, if present on old
surfaces or in midden deposits are buried or carried downhill with
other material and redeposited. Sometimes the resultant overburden
is extraordinarily thick and, surprisingly, often found in the hills.
 An outstanding example of this process may be seen along the
8- to 9-foot high west bank of the Greathead River at Arnos Vale
(Fig. 4, 30). Views of this bank show three extremely thick layers
separated in spots by fanglomerate (Pl. XIII). The natural forces
involved must have been enormous to move boulders of the si/e
shown in tie pictures. At this part of the site, artifacts, radiocarbon
dated to A.D. 410, are found only in the dark zone shown immedi-
ately at or just above water level. In another area of this large
level flood plain, specimens (of a different time period) are found
between depths of 1 and 3 feet. Obviously, they arrived in place
sone time after tle pottery found in the lower level.
 Like St. Vincent, tile Grenadines are volcanic in origin but,
unlike her, they contain no recently active volcano. Like her, again,
they have a very rugged terrain, but the altitudes of their hills are
very nominal, seldom exceeding 700 and never reaching 900 feet
except on C(arriacou, by far the largest of the Grenadines. Hence,
while the trade winds blow gloriously, condensation is at a mini-
mum and active streams virtually unknown except during the
height of the rainy season. For most of the year, these islands are
very dry. As a result Anerindian sites are not buried under large
quantities of overburden. Each island of any size contains one or
more good sand beaches. The larger ones have, or until recently