scholarly journals New Radiocarbon Dates for the Grenadine Islands (West Indies)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M Fitzpatrick ◽  
Christina M Giovas
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Island Size ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Information ◽  
Rigorous Testing ◽  
Ceramic Age ◽  
The Caribbean

Intensified archaeological research in the Caribbean over the past 2 decades has provided a wealth of new information on how and when these islands were settled prehistorically. However, there has been a paucity of research on islands in the southern Lesser Antilles, which would allow for more rigorous testing of migration models and various settlement pattern hypotheses. To address some of these chronological and geographical gaps, we present a corpus of 41 radiocarbon dates from several sites in the Grenadine Island chain. Results to date support a relatively late Ceramic Age settlement of these smaller islands (about AD 400) compared to other nearby, larger islands in the southern Lesser Antilles (about AD 200) as well as the Caribbean as a whole (about 400/500 BC). Intriguing questions also remain as to an apparent, but as yet inadequately tested, pattern where earlier colonization dates are correlated with larger island size.

scholarly journals Circumstantial evidence for the presence of monk seals in the West Indies

Oryx ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 310-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. L. Boyd ◽  
M. P. Stanfield
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Circumstantial Evidence ◽  
Harbour Seal ◽  
Sea Lion ◽  
The West ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Monk Seals

Based on interviews with 93 fishermen in northern Haiti and Jamaica during 1997 an assessment was made of the likelihood that monk seals survive in this region of the West Indies. Fishermen were asked to select marine species known to them from randomly arranged pictures: 22.6 per cent (n = 21) selected monk seals. This number was significantly (P < 0.001) greater than the number who selected control species (walrus, harbour seal, and sea-lion) that they were unlikely to have observed. However, it was not significantly different (n = 19, P > 0.1) from the number who selected manatees, which are known to occur in the region in small numbers. More than 95 per cent of respondents also identified species that are known to occur commonly in the region. Further questioning of the 21 respondents who selected monk seals suggested that 16 (78 per cent) of them had seen at least one in the past 1–2 years. Those fishermen that were able to provide further descriptions gave information about size and colour that was consistent with many of these seals being monk seals. It is possible that the Caribbean monk seal is not extinct.

On Puerto Rican Archaeology

1965 ◽  
Vol 31 (2Part1) ◽  
pp. 246-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo E. Alegría
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
West Indian ◽  
Intermediate Position ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Clear Relationship ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Cultural Traditions

AbstractHistorical sources corroborated by archaeological research demonstrate that the Antillean area was inhabited by people of three cultural traditions. Puerto Rico, because of its intermediate position between the Greater and Lesser Antilles, is of great importance in determining the chronology and the distribution of West Indian aboriginal cultures. Recent radiocarbon dates demonstrate that Puerto Rico was first populated by a preceramic people who arrived before the Christian era. A relationship between these Indians and certain preceramic groups of Venezuela has been postulated, although neither the chronology of the sites nor their distribution correspond. Other radiocarbon dates from Puerto Rico establish a clear relationship between the different pottery styles of the island and those of the Lesser Antilles and Venezuela.

The accuracy of radiocarbon dates

1972 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Barker
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotopes ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
Mathematical Treatment ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
World War ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Past ◽  
Source Of Error

This article deals in detail with the various factors which affect the accuracy of radiocarbon dates. The familiar “error term” associated with each date and which caused so much confusion to users of radiocarbon dates in the early days of the method is derived from the statistical uncertainties of the measurements of radioactivity from which the date is calculated and is the only source of error which is capable of strict mathematical treatment. Other sources of error, as for example wrong attribution of the sample or human error in labelling, can be disastrously large on occasion, although they can usually be kept quite small. Errors arising from the effects of isotopic fractionation can be eliminated by the application of corrections based on mass spectrometric measurements of the stable carbon isotopes in the sample. However, it is now known that the most serious limitation on the accuracy obtainable by the radiocarbon method is set by the fact that the level of radiocarbon in the carbon exchange reservoir has not been constant in the past. Despite this limitation, however, the method is still the most important scientific aid to archaeological research to emerge since the end of World War II.

Archaeology in Lowland South America and the Caribbean, 1935-60

1961 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-62
Author(s):  
Irving Rouse
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
American Indians ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Southern South America ◽  
The Past ◽  
Caribbean Area ◽  
The Caribbean

AbstractArchaeological research in those parts of South America not included in Nuclear America is reviewed with an emphasis on Amazonia and the Caribbean area. Southern South America is primarily important at present for the well documented series of Early Man sites which indicate that American Indians had reached the farthest periphery of the hemisphere by as early as 7000 B.C. There have been three main developments and one shortcoming in the archaeology of Amazonia and the Caribbean area during the past 25 years. The developments are the discovery and formulation of new cultural complexes or phases, the establishment of chronological control which has been most successful in the Caribbean area, and the introduction and archaeological testing of Steward's concept of evolutionary levels correlated with environment, especially in Amazonia. The shortcoming is the lack of interest in reconstructing the culture of the excavated sites.

scholarly journals A database of lapidary artifacts in the Caribbean for the Ceramic Age

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Queffelec ◽  
Pierrick Fouéré ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Caverne
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Literature Survey ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Caribbean Islands ◽  
Ceramic Age ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Materials Used

Lapidary artifacts show an impressive abundance and diversity during the Ceramic period in the Caribbean islands, especially at the beginning of this period. Most of the raw materials used in this production do not exist naturally on the islands of the Lesser Antilles, nevertheless, many archaeological sites have yielded such artifacts on these islands. In the framework of a four-years-long project, we created a database by combining first hand observations and analysis, as well as a thorough literature survey. The result is a database including more than 100 sites and almost 5000 beads, pendants, blanks and raw material fragments.

scholarly journals A Marine Reservoir Effect ∆R Value for Kitandach, in Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia, Canada

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 885-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevan Edinborough ◽  
Andrew Martindale ◽  
Gordon T Cook ◽  
Kisha Supernant ◽  
Kenneth M Ames
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Reservoir Effect ◽  
Test Taking ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Prince Rupert Harbour ◽  
The North Pacific

AbstractPrince Rupert Harbour (PRH), on the north Pacific Coast of British Columbia, contains at least 157 shell middens, of which 66 are known villages, in an area of approximately 180 km2. These sites span the last 9500 yr and in some cases are immense, exceeding 20,000 m2 surface area and several meters in depth. Recent archaeological research in PRH has become increasingly reliant on radiocarbon dates from marine shell for developing chronologies. However, this is problematic as the local marine reservoir effect (MRE) remains poorly understood in the region. To account for the MRE and to better date the Harbour’s sites, we propose a ΔR of 273±38 for the PRH area, based on our work at the site of Kitandach (GbTo-34), a massive shell midden-village centrally located within the Harbour. We followed the multiple paired sample approach for samples from specific contexts and ensured contemporaneity within the groups of marine and terrestrial materials by statistically assessing for outliers using the χ2 test. Taking together, the results for this and previous studies, it appears the MRE was fairly constant over the past 5000 yr.

scholarly journals Evaluation of tsunami risk in the Lesser Antilles

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Zahibo ◽  
E. N. Pelinovsky
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
West Indies ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Volcanic Origin ◽  
Caribbean Area ◽  
Tsunami Risk ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Seismic Origin

Abstract. The main goal of this study is to give the preliminary estimates of the tsunami risks for the Lesser Antilles. We investigated the available data of the tsunamis in the French West Indies using the historical data and catalogue of the tsunamis in the Lesser Antilles. In total, twenty-four (24) tsunamis were recorded in this area for last 400 years; sixteen (16) events of the seismic origin, five (5) events of volcanic origin and three (3) events of unknown source. Most of the tsunamigenic earthquakes (13) occurred in the Caribbean, and three tsunamis were generated during far away earthquakes (near the coasts of Portugal and Costa Rica). The estimates of tsunami risk are based on a preliminary analysis of the seismicity of the Caribbean area and the historical data of tsunamis. In particular, we investigate the occurrence of historical extreme runup tsunami data on Guadeloupe, and these data are revised after a survey in Guadeloupe.

Monitoring Agricultural Drought in the West Indies

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Anthony Chen ◽  
Trevor Falloon
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
West Indian ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Greater Antilles ◽  
The West ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
The North ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Azores High

The core of the West Indies consists of the archipelago of islands that stretches southeast from the Yucatan and Florida peninsulas to Venezuela. Generally the term “West Indies” is synonymous with the “Antilles” and is therefore often used to refer to the islands that compose the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The islands of the Greater Antilles include Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica—all located in the north Caribbean Sea—while the Lesser Antilles encompasses the smaller islands found to the south and east. In total, the West Indies embraces about 25 island territories. There are complex mountain ranges in the Greater Antilles, such as the Blue Mountains (2257 m) in central Jamaica and the Pico Duarte (3175 m) in the Dominican Republic, smaller volcanic peaks in the northeast island arc, and low-lying islands composing the remainder of the Lesser Antilles. The variation in local topography contributes significantly to the general rainfall pattern across the West Indian islands, as the windward sides of the larger and more mountainous islands are rainy and windswept, while the leeward sides are drier. In comparison, the low-lying eastern islands receive much less rainfall due to their lack of topographic relief and are much more dependent on seasonal rains. It is, however, the location of the West Indian islands between the permanent high pressure zone of the subtropical north Atlantic (the Azores high) and the equatorial trough of low pressure that gives rise to the mean monthly West Indian rainfall depicted in figure 11.2. Early in the year (December through March) and for a brief period in July, the Caribbean is dominated by subsidence from the inner zone of the Azores high and is at its driest. Rainfall during this period (barring July) is largely from the intrusion of fronts from North America. By the onset of the rainy season, however, the Azores high drifts farther north, resulting in weakened trade winds. At the same time, the Caribbean Sea warms up.

scholarly journals Irish in the West Indies: Irish Influence on the Formation of English-Based Creoles

2015 ◽  
pp. 181-192
Author(s):  
Elena Perekhvalskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
West African ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
The West ◽  
Irish Language ◽  
African Languages ◽  
The Past ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
The Caribbean

This article deals with the problem of the early stages of creole formation. The significant structural and material similarities between the aspectual systems of the verb in Hiberno-English and in the West Indies English-based creoles are demonstrated. Suggestions are made about the possible impact of the Irish language on the formation of the English-based creoles in the early stages of creolisation. The historical evidence which proves the possibility of language contact between Irish, English and West African languages in the Caribbean in the past is provided.

scholarly journals Verification of an Archaic Age Occupation on Barbados, Southern Lesser Antilles

Radiocarbon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
South America ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Carbonate Cement ◽  
Queen Conch ◽  
Active Volcanism ◽  
Ceramic Age ◽  
Juvenile Specimen ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Conch Shell

The Caribbean Archaic Age (about 3000–500 BC) is thought to represent the earliest migration of humans from South America into the Lesser Antilles. However, there is a conspicuous absence of these early sites on islands south of the Guadeloupe Passage. To date, only a single radiocarbon date derived from a Queen conch (Strombus [Eustrombus] gigas) shell at the Heywoods site on Barbados was indicative of an Archaic occupation in the southern Antilles apart from a scattering of poorly reported (and mostly undated) sites. Given a number of issues associated with reliance on a single date to establish a cultural horizon, along with other problems derived from possible carbonate cement contamination and dating marine shells of a longer-lived species such as Queen conch, 2 additional samples were taken from the same unit and context at Heywoods to confirm whether the site is truly representative of an occupation during the Archaic Age. Results from a Queen conch shell adze in Context 7 dated to 2530–2200 BC (2 σ) and overlaps with the only other Archaic date from the site dating to 2320–1750 cal BC, while a juvenile specimen of the same species from Context 8 at 3280–2940 BC (2 σ) indicates that Barbados may have been settled even earlier. This suggests that Heywoods may be the oldest site between Trinidad and Puerto Rico. While further confirmation is required, these new dates have implications for understanding the nature of migratory ventures in the Caribbean, such as whether the “Southward Route” hypothesis—which postulates that earlier migration events from South America during the Ceramic Age (beginning ∼500 BC) initially bypassed the southern Lesser Antilles—also applies to the Archaic, and if other phenomena such as active volcanism may have played a role in structuring settlement patterns. Questions also remain as to why Heywoods does not exhibit the typical lithic Archaic tool kit.

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