ABSTRACT
Physical setting The Tutu Archaeological Village site is nestled in an inland valley, about 1.75 km from the nearest seacoast, on the eastern end of the island of St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. St Thomas is one of a chain of islands that extends along the eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea and stretches from Trinidad off the northern coast of South America to the western end of Cuba (Figure 1.1). Located about 55 km east of Puerto Rico (18° 20' N, 64° 56' W), St Thomas is geologically more closely related to this island than to islands of the Lesser Antilles to the east and southeas,; and is, therefore, usually included among islands of the Greater Antilles. St Thomas (Figure 1.2; Figure I.3) is about 5 km wide at its widest point, 24 km long, and has an area of about 83 km2. In form, St Thomas consists of a long east-west ridge, rising to about 500 m at its highest point, with numerous fastdescending spurs to sea level. Little level ground is present, except at bay heads, where run-off from sharply dissected ravines has created gently sloping land; in summit areas generally above 300 m in elevation; and in the valley of Turpentine Run, where the Tutu site is located. Soils of St Thomas are mostly thin and rocky, particularly on the coast and steep ridge slopes (Pearsall, 1997).
