Gone But Not Forgotten: The Extinct Language of Berbice Creole Dutch

Rita and Amy Thomas, two of the last Berbice Creole Dutch speakers

 

This blog has covered the impacts of language loss on cultural groups around the world, as well as the various conservation efforts that have been implemented to stop their extinction.  While several of these programs and initiatives have been successful there are some that have not been, leading to the extinction of a language (and the culture associated with it).  Today’s blog post will address a language made recently extinct as its last speaker passed away.  In this post you will learn about Berbice Creole Dutch.

 

Berbice Creole Dutch was one of several Dutch Creole languages spoken in what is today known as the country of Guyana in South America.  This language was spoken in an area along the Berbice River, of which the private colony of Berbice (and the language itself) derived their names.  When the colony was first established in 1627 under the permission of the Dutch West India Company its population consisted of primarily White European (Dutch) and a small proportion of enslaved Africans.  As the Berbice plantations multiplied the population demographics shifted considerably.  More Africans, particularly from East Africa, were forced to work on the plantations, alongside a small proportion of Lokono (commonly referred to as Arawak) Amerindians.  The White Dutch population was the minority in size. 

 

Because of their sociopolitical power the White Dutch population dominated the area, and they realized the need to communicate with the enslaved Black and Amerindian populations.  This led to the creation of the Berbice Creole Dutch language, which was derived from Eastern Ijo languages of Africa, Dutch of Europe, and Lokono, the local language of the indigenous Amerindians.  Based on linguistic studies of Berbice Creole Dutch 1/3 of the language’s lexicon (vocabulary) comes from Eastern Ijo languages, and no more than 10% of the lexicon comes from Lokono.  The rest is made up of Dutch words.  Despite the contribution of Lokono to its vocabulary it did not contribute to the grammatical structure of the language.  This is made up of the grammatical rules from the Eastern Ijo and Dutch languages. 

 

Beginning in the 1800s when the colony came under the control of the British the bovianders, the name of the descendants of the Dutch, enslaved Africans, and Lokono peoples, came under scrutiny and were quickly the victims of discrimination.  Their culture, which included animistic religious practices derived from Africa, the construction and habitation of simple but effective thatch-roofed homes, and hunting of local bush meat, was viewed as inferior, and the bovianders were strongly encouraged to assimilate to British colonial practices. 

 

Over time, generations of bovianders gave into that pressure.  When Berbice Creole Dutch was first studied very little of it was able to be documented due to native speakers being fearful of sharing their language or flatly refusing to do so.  They did not want to be judged harshly by linguistic scholars, who were often foreigners, as they were already judged by local populations.  As time went on and fewer and fewer native speakers remained there was a greater push among both linguists and the bovianders to document the language.  Unfortunately, social attitudes hampered preservation efforts, and in 2005 when Albertha Bell, the last remaining Berbice Creole Dutch speaker passed away at the age of 103, the language was deemed extinct. 

 

Her death did not just mark the extinction of a language, however.  It also provided lessons on the effects of language death.  Because of the sociocultural attitudes that harshly and negatively viewed the bovianders they lived their last years primarily isolated from others.  Their family members moved away and eventually stopped visiting them due to the view of the bovianders as “backwards” individuals who were too stubborn and ignorant to “evolve” and modernize.  This attitude also contributed to other, nonfamily members from interacting with them.  As stated at the beginning of this post these actions led not only to the extinction of a language but the culture that went with it.  An unfortunate end to a culture that thrived despite extreme challenges, only to be exterminated in large part by itself.

  

Works Cited

Jamaican Language Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona. "Berbice Dutch Creole." 2007. Caribbean Indigenous and Endangered Languages. Electronic. 8 June 2026.

Kouwenberg, Silvia. "Berbice Dutch: a language in South America." 10 October 2025. Lingo Blog. Electronic. 8 June 2026.

Kouwenberg, Silvia. "Survey chapter: Berbice Dutch." Michaelis, Susanne Maria, et al. The survey of pidgin and creole languages. In "The survey of pidgin and creole languages". Volume 1: English-based and Dutch-based Languages. . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Himani Nautiyal, Award Winning Biological Anthropologist

 

Dr. Himani Nautiyal (Source: National Geographic)

Life is a series of experiences that shapes who we become and who we are.  This is an adapt description for Dr. Himani Nautiyal, whose experiences growing up in a small village in the Indian Himalayan Mountains inspired her to pursue her studies in career in evolutionary biology and biological anthropology. She was keenly aware of the sensitive relationship between herself, the people in her village, and the natural environment they existed within. Respect for nature was necessary to ensure the survival of all within that habitat, and it is that very recognition that pushes her forward in her research and public outreach activities.

 

Dr. Nautiyal earned her bachelor’s in forestry at the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, followed by her Master’s in Wildlife Biology at Bharathisdasan University-Tiruchirappalli.  She pivoted from a strictly hard science degree program to a more social science degree program with her doctoral work, which she completed at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University in Japan.  It was here she opted to study the Himalayan langurs in her homeland of India.  She was familiar with the environment and had a network of people she could rely on, but she was also ready for the challenge of studying one of the world's “shyest” primate species.  This refers to the difficulties in observing these primates as they are keen on running away and avoiding observation by humans.  These were not her only challenges, though.  The territories these primates reside in are often remote, meaning far from human settlements, as well as difficult to access due to the types of terrain in the area. 

 

She reveled in these challenges as they only affirmed her desire to study the intersections between humans and nature, more specifically the evolutionary relationships between humans and nature.  Her research has grown significantly since she completed her doctoral research as she utilizes biological and cultural anthropological methods to study the people and the landscapes of the Himalayan Mountains they reside in to better understand the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.

 

In 2014 she established the Himalayan Langur Project. The goal of this project is to integrate research and community engagement to foster and promote beneficial relationships between humans and the natural world of the Indian Himalayas.  There is specific emphasis on the study of Himalayan langur populations, coupled with working alongside human residential populations in identifying and implementing appropriate conservation efforts that mutually benefit both langurs and humans. She has also sponsored a number of students, from both India and abroad, on this project as interns.  They work alongside her in biological and cultural anthropological research, focusing on the study of the langur or the conservation efforts with local populations.

 

Her efforts continue beyond her research. She recognizes the need to communicate with people around the world about the impacts of her research, which are not just applicable to the Indian subcontinent.  The impacts of climate change on biodiversity and human populations are worldwide concerns, meaning it is one that everyone should be concerned with.  To fulfill this goal she engages in a variety of public outreach activities, including but not limited the creation of a documentary film, Traditions in Balance; public lectures; YouTube videos; websites; and more.  She has received numerous awards and recognitions for these efforts, the most recent of which was the American Association of Biological Anthropologists and the Leakey Foundation Communication & Outreach Award in Honor of Camilla Smith.  She also previously received the Conservationist of the Year Award by We Naturalists. Her documentary film has also received numerous recognitions and awards over the past couple of years. 

 

In totality, Dr. Himani Nautiyal demonstrates the drive for success that has enabled her to be an effective researcher and communicator of science. Her passion for conservation has aided various people both in Indian and abroad learn more about the natural environments they reside in, their impact on those environments, and how they can make positive changes to improve their living situations.  She is an inspiration to many, and she will continue to do so as she continues on in her career.

 

References

Himalayan Langur Project. (2026, June 8). Himalayan Langur Project. Retrieved from Himalayan Langur Project: https://himalayanlangur.com/#home

National Geographic. (2026, June 8). Himani Nautiyal, National Geographic Explorer. Retrieved from National Geographic Explorers: https://explorers.nationalgeographic.org/directory/himani-nautiyal

Nautiyal, H. (2026, June 8). FIELD Experience: Dr Himani Nautiyal . Retrieved from FIELD PERSPECTIVES: http://fieldperspectives.org/HimaniNautiyal.html

Nautiyal, H. (2026, June 8). Introduction. Retrieved from Himani Nautiyal: Primatologist and Evolutionary Biologist: https://www.himaninautiyal.com/introduction.html

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Kaniqua L. Robinson, Research and Applied Cultural Anthropologist of Public Memory, Criminal Justice Reform, and Deathways

 

Dr. Kaniqua Robinson

 

When one thinks of a tragic event, particularly one that leads to the loss of life, one considers who may be involved in the investigative process.  From an anthropological standpoint that is most often forensic archaeologists and anthropologists, who are responsible for exhuming the deceased and then identifying who they were and how they died.  These specialists play an important role in these investigations, but there is a need for a different type of anthropologist: the cultural anthropologist.  Cultural anthropologists often work with the living victims of such tragedies, specifically survivors and victims’ families, to understand the circumstances of what happened and how best to resolve the trauma and grief that comes from such tragic circumstances.  This is a responsibility that applied cultural anthropologist, Dr. Kaniqua L. Robinson, takes very seriously.

 

Dr. Robinson earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English from Georgia State University, followed by her Master of Arts in Anthropology from the same institution.  She earned her Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida (USF) in 2018.  It was here where she joined a select group of USF faculty and students in a project to investigate the locations of missing children buried at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a reform school in Florida.  The project, named the Boot Hill Burial Grounds Project, resulted in the identification and exhumation of 55 burials of young boys who died during their tenure at the school.  It also forced individuals associated with the school, including staff, juveniles at the school, and neighboring residents, to confront the realities of the tragedies that took place there.  This required the careful work of cultural anthropologists, and as a doctoral student Dr. Robinson fulfilled this role.  Working as a Research Assistant on the project she learned about what happened from various individuals’ perspectives.  You took this information and turned it into her doctoral research, which focused on the role of religion in the creation of public memory.  She addressed how religion worked as a means of reconciling these events. 

 

Her work also touched on several other topics, including inequalities in the criminal justice system, particularly against minority youths, and the need for reforms.  Dr. Robinson has published several articles and book chapters on this subject matter, as well as provides several public lectures on these topics.  By doing this she is taking the scholarly and applied approaches in ensuring that people understand what happened at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, its impacts on the victims and their families, and how to not allow these tragedies to continue.

 

In addition to this work she is currently an Associate Professor in Anthropology at Furman University.  She has also served as an officer on various boards and organizations.  She is listed as the VP of Communications for the Association for Black Anthropologists and the Research Consultant & Memorialization Specialist for the Black Cemetery Network.  In these roles she applies what she has learned concerning racial injustice and works to minimize and eliminate those barriers and issues, further demonstrating how anthropology is not just an academic endeavor but one that can be used to solve real problems.

 

Works Cited

Association of Black Anthropologists. "ABA Executive Board." 26 May 2022. Association of Black Anthropologists. Electronic. 14 May 2026.

Furman University. "Kaniqua Robinson, Associate Professor, Anthropology." n.d. Furman University. Electronic. 14 May 2026.

Robinson, Kaniqua L. The Performance of Memorialization: Politics of Memory and Memory-Making at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. Dissertation. Tampa: University of South Florida, 2018. Print.

The Black Cemetery Network. "Our Team." 2021. The Black Cemetery Network. Electronic. 14 May 2026.

The Use of Archaeological Methods in Animal Conservation and Preservation

Figure 1:  Huemels are a critically endangered camelid species found in South America (Source: Barberena et al., 2011)

A hot topic that has been popular over many decades has been environmental conservation and preservation.  There are countless governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and individuals who are concerned with many different aspects of global environmental changes.  This includes concerns about the extinction of various plant and animal species, global warming, or other issues concerning our natural environments.  Researchers in the fields of natural resource management, biology, environmental sciences, and other hard sciences have dedicated a great deal of time, energy, and resources to understanding these issues and seeking resolutions to them.  One area of research that has received little attention in helping holistically understand and resolve these issues is archaeology.  Today’s blog post will address how archaeological research can be and is used to address issues concerning environmental protection, specifically animal conservation and preservation.

 

Environmental archaeologists have been addressing the issue of how their work can and should be used for environmental preservation for decades.  There have been some miscommunications in how specifically this can be done in a realistic manner, though.  Several environmental archaeologists have promoted ideas concerning returning to Indigenous means of working the land, which proved to be environmentally sustainable in the past.  While this is true it is not necessarily feasible due to the contemporary manipulation and changes to the lands that were previously worked through Indigenous methods.  This had led to pivoting directions and messaging. 

 

Presently, archaeologists argue that their work still matters but in different ways.  First, archaeological data can be used to understand the historical relationships between humans and their environments.  By having this understanding one can better assess the role humans have played in manipulating those environments, identifying how specific plant and animal species have changed or gone extinct due to human actions.  Another important consideration is using archaeological data to evaluate past environments, which provides a survey of what past environments exists and with which specific plant and animal species existed within them.  Lastly, there is the potential for using archaeological data to pinpoint when specific plant or animal species were introduced by human into an environment, thereby understanding which animals were natural versus invasive to the environment.  This point of information is already documented in the historical record, such as knowing when European songbirds, such as the sparrow, were released throughout North America and devastated indigenous song bird populations.  An archaeological survey of these data provides are greater temporal range, particularly if and where the historical data is lacking or nonexistent.

 

Several studies have already utilized archaeological data to provides insights into past environments, particularly for critically endangered animal species.  One study on Huemuls (Figure 1), a camelid species indigenous to the Chilean and Argentinian Andes, utilized isotopic analyses to understand the diets of zooarchaeological samples of these species.  This information provided insights into the specialized diets of these species, which can inform contemporary conservationists on the best practices for replenishing these species.  This enables them to reintroduce them into areas where they will be best able to not only survive but thrive as they have plenty of food resources to proliferate across their new home ranges. 

 

A second study on Asiatic cheetah species has great potential for preserving these species, of which there are less than 70 left in the wild.  Morphological, genetic, and radiometric analyses of seven mummified cheetahs and over 50 skeletonized samples have provided insights into the number and home range for these cheetahs.  The researchers determined that hybridization between African and Asiatic cheetah species was quite common in the past, as well as additional useful information that could be used by conservationists as they explore options for rewilding this cheetah species.

 

Ultimately, there is great potential in the use of archaeological data to better inform conservation efforts.  While this blog post focused on two case studies focused on animal species there are several other studies that showcase the use of these methods in floral (plant) and other species, including insects, bacteria, and more.  By using multiple lines of evidence and interdisciplinary studies a better understanding of conservation problems can be attained, leading to informed and potentially more viable solutions.

 

References Cited

Barberena, R., Méndez, C., Mena, F., & Reyes, O. (2011). Endangered species, archaeology, and stable isotopes: huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) isotopic ecology in central-western Patagonia (South America). Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(9), 2313-2323.

 

Boug, A.A., Mir, Z.R., Jbour, S. et al. Mummified cave cheetahs inform rewilding actions in Saudi Arabia. Commun Earth Environ 7, 24 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03021-6

 

Shriver-Rice, M., Schneider, M. J., & Pardo, C. (2022). Charismatic megafauna, regional identity, and invasive species: what role does environmental archaeology play in contemporary conservation efforts?. World Archaeology, 54(3), 429-446.