‘Marineness’, the Underwater Seascape and Variability in Maritime Adaptations in the Late Ceramic Age Northern Lesser Antilles

In order to compare pre-Columbian cultural affiliations in the Lesser Antilles, we studied three ceramic series from Guadeloupe (F.W.I.) from well-dated Troumassoid sites between AD 1000 and 1300 (radiometric ages) attributed to the Late Ceramic Age (AD 1000–1500). The significance of the different types of inclusions in these ceramics is discussed through a petrographic study using optical and electron microscopy, that we subsequently compared with the local geological contexts. Two of the studied sites are located in the volcanic part of Guadeloupe (Basse-Terre), while the third one is situated in an area dominated by the sedimentary substratum of Grande-Terre and its silty cover. The petrographic analysis shows either the use of local heterogeneous materials: natural, geological or pedological aplastic inclusions (volcanic sands and cinders, ferruginous soils), and the addition of grog (anthropogenic temper). At each of the three sites studied, the presence of grog was demonstrated for several modal series. Comparison of the compositions of the pastes with the ceramic chrono-typology allow us to explore the proposition presented by Donahueet al.(1990), suggesting that the use of grog may infer a difference between Troumassoid and pre-Troumassoid assemblages. We also hypothesize a progressive diffusion of the use of grog temper into the Lesser Antilles, from the Guianas. This idea defies the commonly accepted idea that Troumassoid developed smoothly out of a locally present Saladoid ceramic series without external influence.

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Archaeobiogeography of extinct rice rats (Oryzomyini) in the Lesser Antilles during the Ceramic Age (500 BCE–1500 CE)

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/0959683620972785 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 095968362097278

Author(s):

Marine Durocher ◽

Violaine Nicolas ◽

Sophia Perdikaris ◽

Dominique Bonnissent ◽

Gwenola Robert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lesser Antilles ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Human Populations ◽

Long Distance ◽

Geometric Morphometric ◽

The North ◽

Ceramic Age ◽

Ecological Importance

During the Ceramic Age (500 BCE–1500 CE), Lesser Antilles rice rats (Tribe Oryzomyini) made up a significant portion of the diet of Caribbean islanders. Archaeological excavations across the archipelago resulted to the discovery of large quantities of remains from to these now extinct taxa. It offers a unique opportunity to investigate the past biogeography of this taxon of high cultural and ecological importance. We have studied 1140 first lower molars originating from 40 archaeological sites across eleven islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago using two-dimensional geometric morphometric approaches to establish spatiotemporal patterns relying on phenotypic variations. This study identified three morphological groups, present in all chrono-cultural periods, that were geographically restricted and consistent with published ancient mitochondrial DNA clusters. These three geographically-separate groups likely represent three distinct genera of rice rats. The first group includes specimens from the North of the archipelago (Saint-Martin, Saba, Saint-Eustatius, Saint-Kitts, and Nevis) and likely referable to as Pennatomys sp.; the second, occurring in the South (Martinique), is assigned to Megalomys desmarestii; and the third corresponds to specimens from the center of the Lesser Antilles (Antigua, Barbuda, Marie-Galante, and Guadeloupe) and likely corresponds to Antillomys sp. These oryzomyine morphotypes are present during all studied periods and support an older presence of these rodents in the region. Our results are congruent with ancient DNA studies that favor the hypothesis of a natural introduction of the group in the archipelago before settlement of human populations. Moreover, the observed phenotypic homogeneity and stability over the 2000 years of Pre-Columbian occupation suggests that rice rats were not part of long-distance inter-island exchanges by humans. Instead, rice rat human consumption was likely based on in-situ hunting of local populations.

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

10.31235/osf.io/7dq3b ◽

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.

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

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200039072 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 595-604 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

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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New Radiocarbon Dates for the Grenadine Islands (West Indies)

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200034585 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 451-460 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

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.

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Gerald H. Thayer's ornithological work in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Lesser Antilles

Archives of Natural History ◽

10.3366/anh.2018.0480 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 21-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James W. Wiley

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

West Indies ◽

The United States ◽

Lesser Antilles ◽

American Museum ◽

The West ◽

Comparative Zoology ◽

North And South America ◽

North And South

Gerald Handerson Thayer (1883–1939) was an artist, writer and naturalist who worked in North and South America, Europe and the West Indies. In the Lesser Antilles, Thayer made substantial contributions to the knowledge and conservation of birds in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Thayer observed and collected birds throughout much of St Vincent and on many of the Grenadines from January 1924 through to December 1925. Although he produced a preliminary manuscript containing interesting distributional notes and which is an early record of the region's ornithology, Thayer never published the results of his work in the islands. Some 413 bird and bird egg specimens have survived from his work in St Vincent and the Grenadines and are now housed in the American Museum of Natural History (New York City) and the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Four hundred and fifty eight specimens of birds and eggs collected by Gerald and his father, Abbott, from other countries are held in museums in the United States.

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