The Lost Jews of St. Maarten: How One Jewish Community was Rediscovered Using Old Fashioned Sleuthing and Modern Forensic Techniques.

With the backdrop of America’s War for Independence, the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten and he valuable salt ponds were a prize for European powers. Island lore indicated there was once a Jewish community but nothing more existed. Using old land records from the island archives, good old fashioned sleuthing and research that spanned the glove, Dana Cohen Sprott was able to piece together this lost Jewish Caribbean history. Leading an international team of archaeologist, forensic anthropologists and government experts, the location of the lost burial ground was confirmed. During the archaeological dig, a skull was discovered and subsequent DNA test performed. This led to a collaboration with the U.S. police department in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Led by Catyana Falsetti, the forensic artist in the Crime Lab, the skull was reconstructed using high tech forensic reconstruction techniques. This was a presentation at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in Washington, D.C. in 2013. The skull and the Jewish community history are a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of St. Maarten and a plaque has been placed at the site of the Jewish burial ground.