Marcy,

You might also want to look for information on local lore and attitudes towards hurricane preparedness -- a more frequent and predictable source of natural destruction in the region.  You might be able to draw parallels between the two, and perhaps even piggy-back solutions for both in rebuilding strategies.  From what I've seen in the news, the biggest obstacle is the crushing poverty and lack of resources.  Good luck with your work.

Marty Perdue
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----- Original Message -----
From: Marcy Rockman 
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:41:06 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Haiti and earthquake archaeology

Dear all,

 

I'm writing to ask for your assistance in locating information about earthquake knowledge and traditional preparedness in Haiti specifically and the Caribbean in general. 

 

Bit of background: I'm currently on a fellowship with the EPA National Homeland Security Research Center in Washington, DC and so am part of the disaster preparedness and response community (note: by training, I'm a landscape archaeologist with background in both Palaeolithic and historical-period colonization and related development of environmental information; my role as a Fellow is to build their social science program with emphasis on risk communication and public perception of environmental hazards). Discussion here is now growing about how to not just rebuild Haiti, but encourage and enable redevelopment of earthquake-resilient structures and communities. 

 

I'm curious to know if there is any history of research and literature on written or oral history about earthquakes in Haiti and/or traditional practices that may have assisted with survival or accommodation of previous (even if lower magnitude) earthquakes in the past. While recent development in the Port-au-Prince area clearly was not designed with earthquakes in mind and links to previous practices may be broken, identification and recognition of previous earthquake heritage may make the sustainable reconstruction efforts more effective.

 

I currently have very little background in Caribbean archaeology and ethnography and time is short, so will be grateful for any suggestions. Please feel free to reply off-list.

 

with many thanks,

Marcy Rockman

 

 

________________________
Marcy Rockman, Ph.D., RPA
AAAS Fellow 
EPA National Homeland Security Research Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20460