Ghent (The Brussels morning newspaper): Hugo DeBlock, curator at Ghent University Museum, received call from Oxford University about a rare pre-colonial Carib wooden club in their collection, highlighting its historical significance.
Hugo De Block, who is a curator at the GUM (Ghents Universiteitsmuseum) and a professor of anthropology, was surprised when he got an unexpected call from Oxford University. The scientists there were looking for some very rare objects from around the world, and one of these objects was in the GUM’s collection. De Block always knew that this object was special, but the call from Oxford made him realize just how important it really is on a bigger level.
What Makes the Carib Wooden Club Significant for History?
De Block was happy and relieved that the object would be carefully studied by experts at Oxford. He knew it would be hard to do such a detailed analysis by himself, so he was thankful for the help from the well-known university. This partnership not only shows how important the object is but also highlights the GUM’s role in keeping and recognizing rare and valuable items.
The object being discussed is a wooden club from the Caribs, who are an indigenous group from the Caribbean and northern South America. This club is very important historically because it comes from before the Spanish took over the area. The Caribs were greatly affected and mostly wiped out after the Spanish invasion, so there are not many artifacts left from them. The club is thought to be from around 1300 or even earlier, making it a rare piece of history from before colonization.
It has been said that the club is important because it is rare and has a significant history. It provides a real link to the Carib people and their culture before European colonization changed everything. Artifacts like this are essential for learning about the history and culture of indigenous peoples in the Caribbean and northern South America. This makes the club a unique and very valuable item for studying indigenous history.
