Corinne L. Hofman

Island rhythms: The Web of Social Relationships and Interaction Networks in the Lesser Antillean Archipelago between 400 B.C. and A.D. 1492

Resumen: Las comunidades precolombinas del archipielago caribeno no eran insulares. La distribucion discontinua de recursos naturales, el enfoque maritimo de los amerindios caribenos junto con la complejidad de los patrones regionales de interaccion aseguraban el caracter dinamico y interconectado de las diversas comunidades insulares pre-coloniales. En este papel se exploran las conductas socio-culturales y las relaciones de intercambio entre comunidades en las Antillas Menores. Se exploran casos arqueologicos relacionados de la adquisicion e intercambio de 1) materias primas y bienes utilitarios, 2) bienes con una alta visibilidad estilistica y funcion social como indices de identidad o status y 3) bienes de prestigio. Su estudio revela el rol fundamental de las dimensiones sociales e ideologicas en la vida caribena. Los datos sugieren que las relaciones sociales se manifiestan a diferentes niveles y en ritmos distintos, a la vez que se expresan de diversas maneras durante la ocupacion amerindia de las islas en la Epoca Ceramica (400 a.C.--1492 d.C.). Si bien existe un enorme potencial en desenredar las interconexiones en las Antillas Menores precolombinas a traves del estudio de los patrones de distribucion, la incorporacion de informacion etnohistorica y etnografica resulta imperativa para dilucidar la red de relaciones sociales subyacentes a estas manifestaciones materiales.

Attractive Ideas, Desirable Goods: Examining the Late Ceramic Age Relationships between Greater and Lesser Antillean Societies

ABSTRACT This article aims to correct a number of archaeological misconceptions issuing from the Taíno-Carib dichotomy engrained within the discipline. We examine the evidence for Late Ceramic Age (AD 800–1500) interactions between communities of the Greater and Lesser Antilles. This article explores and nuances the alleged dichotomy between Taíno and Carib societies, details a number of contact lines between them, and advances hypotheses regarding the mechanisms underlying these interactions such as incorporation, exchange, and appropriation.

Intrinsic challenges in ancient microbiome reconstruction using 16S rRNA gene amplification

To date, characterization of ancient oral (dental calculus) and gut (coprolite) microbiota has been primarily accomplished through a metataxonomic approach involving targeted amplification of one or more variable regions in the 16S rRNA gene. Specifically, the V3 region (E. coli 341–534) of this gene has been suggested as an excellent candidate for ancient DNA amplification and microbial community reconstruction. However, in practice this metataxonomic approach often produces highly skewed taxonomic frequency data. In this study, we use non-targeted (shotgun metagenomics) sequencing methods to better understand skewed microbial profiles observed in four ancient dental calculus specimens previously analyzed by amplicon sequencing. Through comparisons of microbial taxonomic counts from paired amplicon (V3 U341F/534R) and shotgun sequencing datasets, we demonstrate that extensive length polymorphisms in the V3 region are a consistent and major cause of differential amplification leading to taxonomic bias in ancient microbiome reconstructions based on amplicon sequencing. We conclude that systematic amplification bias confounds attempts to accurately reconstruct microbiome taxonomic profiles from 16S rRNA V3 amplicon data generated using universal primers. Because in silico analysis indicates that alternative 16S rRNA hypervariable regions will present similar challenges, we advocate for the use of a shotgun metagenomics approach in ancient microbiome reconstructions.

Stage of encounters: migration, mobility and interaction in the pre-colonial and early colonial Caribbean

Abstract The Caribbean Sea was centre stage in the earliest, sustained encounters between the New and Old Worlds, heralding the mass movement of people, goods and ideas between two previously unconnected parts of the world. The repercussions of this are woven into the fabric of modern multi-ethnic Caribbean society. However, our current understanding of this important chapter in world history is skewed due to large shortfalls in our knowledge of indigenous agencies in these encounters. A trans-disciplinary field of research, based on the synergy of archaeological and network approaches towards local contexts, provides fresh insights into how indigenous agency developed during these encounters, particularly in terms of migration, mobility and interaction dynamics. The present article illustrates how four indigenous Caribbean communities (re-)negotiated, adapted and integrated their multi-scalar social networks prior to and in the course of the different phases of the colonization process.

Investigating human geographic origins using dual-isotope (87Sr/86Sr, δ18O) assignment approaches.

Substantial progress in the application of multiple isotope analyses has greatly improved the ability to identify nonlocal individuals amongst archaeological populations over the past decades. More recently the development of large scale models of spatial isotopic variation (isoscapes) has contributed to improved geographic assignments of human and animal origins. Persistent challenges remain, however, in the accurate identification of individual geographic origins from skeletal isotope data in studies of human (and animal) migration and provenance. In an attempt to develop and test more standardized and quantitative approaches to geographic assignment of individual origins using isotopic data two methods, combining 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O isoscapes, are examined for the Circum-Caribbean region: 1) an Interval approach using a defined range of fixed isotopic variation per location; and 2) a Likelihood assignment approach using univariate and bivariate probability density functions. These two methods are tested with enamel isotope data from a modern sample of known origin from Caracas, Venezuela and further explored with two archaeological samples of unknown origin recovered from Cuba and Trinidad. The results emphasize both the potential and limitation of the different approaches. Validation tests on the known origin sample exclude most areas of the Circum-Caribbean region and correctly highlight Caracas as a possible place of origin with both approaches. The positive validation results clearly demonstrate the overall efficacy of a dual-isotope approach to geoprovenance. The accuracy and precision of geographic assignments may be further improved by better understanding of the relationships between environmental and biological isotope variation; continued development and refinement of relevant isoscapes; and the eventual incorporation of a broader array of isotope proxy data.

Mapping Indigenous Settlement Topography in the Caribbean Using Drones

The archaeology of Amerindian settlements in the Caribbean has mostly been identified through scatters of artefacts; predominantly conglomerations of shells, ceramics and lithics. While archaeological material may not always be visible on the surface, particular settlement patterns may be identifiable by a topography created through cultural action: earthen mounds interchanging with mostly circular flattened areas. In northern Hispaniola, recent foot surveys have identified more than 200 pre-colonial sites of which several have been mapped in high resolution. In addition, three settlements with topographical characteristics have been extensively excavated, confirming that the mounds and flattened areas may have had a cultural connotation in this region. Without the availability of high resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data, a photogrammetric approach using UAS (unmanned aircraft system, commonly known as drones) can fill the knowledge gap on a local scale, providing fast and reliable data collection and precise results. After photogrammetric processing, digital clearance of vegetation, and extraction of the georeferenced DEM (digital elevation model) and orthophoto, filters and enhancements provide an opportunity to visualize the results in GIS. The outcome provides an overview of site size, and distribution of mounds and flattened areas. Measurement of the topographic changes in a variety of past settlements defines likely zones of habitat, and provides clues on the actual dimensions and density of living space. Understanding the relation of the mounds and adjacent flat areas within their environment allows a discussion on how, and for what purpose, the settlement was founded at a particular location, and provides clues about its spatial organization.

Archipelagic Resource Procurement and Mobility in the Northern Lesser Antilles: The View from a 3000-year-old Tropical Forest Campsite on Saba

ABSTRACT Archaic Age fisher-collector communities are known to have settled predominantly along coastlines in the islands of the northern Lesser Antilles beginning around 2300 cal BC. An Archaic Age campsite at Plum Piece on the island of Saba provides evidence for early populations exploiting inland tropical forest environments. Midden deposits have yielded a toolkit and faunal assemblage pointing to a seasonal occupation, possibly oriented towards a set of specialized forest activities. The identification of an archipelagic resource mobility strategy at the Plum Piece campsite suggest that it operated within the same subsistence/settlement/activity system as other Archaic Age sites in the region. This emphasizes the seasonal mobility, diversified modes of procurement and exploitation, and social interaction of Archaic Age communities in the northern Lesser Antilles.

Life and death at precolumbian Lavoutte, Saint Lucia, Lesser Antilles

Abstract The Caribbean archaeological record requires immediate attention and protection. Development and natural forces have impacted archaeological sites, destroying or severely damaging them. The precolumbian site of Lavoutte, located in northern Saint Lucia, has been known as a major Late Ceramic Age (a.d. 1000–1500) settlement since the 1960s, but it has been damaged over the past decades by both natural and human processes. Multidisciplinary field and laboratory methodologies were implemented during a rescue project at the site from 2009 to 2010. This paper presents the results of collaborative efforts between local and international organizations. The first goal was to demonstrate the importance of protection and rescue of endangered archaeological sites. Secondly, we aimed to show that by adopting a multidisciplinary approach including artifact analysis, bioarchaeology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and geochemistry, severely damaged sites can be of significant informational value.

Confronting Caribbean heritage in an archipelago of diversity: Politics, stakeholders, climate change, natural disasters, tourism, and development

Abstract The Caribbean archipelago is a series of independent island nations and overseas departments, territories, colonies, or commonwealths of developed countries. About 250 generations of human occupation in the Caribbean have produced a blend of traditions sometimes called a “cultural kaleidoscope.” Eight thousand years of shifting cultural identities are recorded in archaeological, architectural, documentary, and ecological records, and in memories and oral traditions known as “heritagescapes.” Caribbean heritagescapes are increasingly threatened by a combination of socioeconomic needs of modern society, ineffective governmental oversight, profit-driven multinational corporations, looters, and natural environmental processes. Balancing the needs of society against the protection and management of heritage requires careful thought and measured dialogue among competing stakeholders. Here we review the status of heritage in the Caribbean and offer a way forward in managing a diminishing supply of heritage resources in the face of current socioeconomic demands, and the unique legislative environments of independent island nations and overseas possessions of developed countries.

Origins and genetic legacies of the Caribbean Taino

Significance Ancient DNA has revolutionized the field of archaeology, but in the Caribbean and other tropical regions of the world, the work has been hampered by poor DNA preservation. We present an ancient human genome from the Caribbean and use it to shed light on the early peopling of the islands. We demonstrate that the ancestors of the so-called “Taino” who inhabited large parts of the Caribbean in pre-Columbian times originated in northern South America, and we find evidence that they had a comparatively large effective population size. We also show that the native components in some modern Caribbean genomes are closely related to the ancient Taino, suggesting that indigenous ancestry in the region has survived through the present day. The Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas to be settled by humans, but how and when the islands were first occupied remains a matter of debate. Ancient DNA can help answering these questions, but the work has been hampered by poor DNA preservation. We report the genome sequence of a 1,000-year-old Lucayan Taino individual recovered from the site of Preacher’s Cave in the Bahamas. We sequenced her genome to 12.4-fold coverage and show that she is genetically most closely related to present-day Arawakan speakers from northern South America, suggesting that the ancestors of the Lucayans originated there. Further, we find no evidence for recent inbreeding or isolation in the ancient genome, suggesting that the Lucayans had a relatively large effective population size. Finally, we show that the native American components in some present-day Caribbean genomes are closely related to the ancient Taino, demonstrating an element of continuity between precontact populations and present-day Latino populations in the Caribbean.