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The Bahamian archipelago covers over 5 ,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean at the northwestern edge of the Caribbean Sea . In the Age of Sail , from the late 15th to early 20th centuries , these islands were on major sailing routes between the Caribbean , Central America , and Europe . Bahamians developed life -ways using their islands location to their advantage .
Archaeological evidence of the significance of shipping activity is quite lacking . This research aimed to help fill the void by documenting examples of ship graffiti throughout the Bahamas . Examples of ship graffiti were documented with photographs and tracings . The Bahamian examples all date to the 19th and 20th centuries , 100 years later than other examples from the Caribbean and North America . They are also unique in being incised into the stone surfaces of building walls , caves , stones on a hillside , even on a slate fragment . It is possible that ship graffiti were also engraved on wooden surfaces but these have not survived in the archaeological record . Images depict locally -built vessels such as sloops and schooners as well as larger , ocean -going vessels .
Ship graffiti are at sites associated mainly with people of African heritage , another possible social grouping being persons of lower economic status . Graffiti details consistently indicate that the artists were familiar with ship construction and rigging .
This analysis of ship graffiti gives some understanding of the significance of ships and shipping in the Bahamian economy . |
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