Mary Jane Berman

At the Crossroads: Starch Grain and Phytolith Analyses in Lucayan Prehistory

Starch and phytolith analyses of an assemblage of chert microliths from the Three Dog site, an early Lucayan settlement on San Salvador, Bahamas, yielded Zea mays, Capsicum, and possible manioc indicating that these domesticates were present by at least A.D. 800 or earlier in Cuba or Hispaniola and brought to the central Bahamas during its early peopling. The presence of corn at this site contradicts previously held ideas that it did not appear in the Bahamas until the A.D. 1200s. Starch granules tentatively identified as root/tuber starch were also found on the microliths, although we were unable to discern if these represent wild species and/or culturally transported wild or domesticated species. The presence of more than one species on the microliths, initially believed to have been manioc grater chips similar to those documented ethnographically, demonstrates multifunctional use. A broad-based plant diet that included maize and root/tuber crops was in place at least by the Archaic age in parts of the Greater Antilles and brought to the Bahamas, along with chilis, during its colonization by Ceramic age peoples.

AMERICAS, CARIBBEAN | The Greater Antilles and Bahamas

From its early peopling at 4200 BC to its conquest by Europeans in the fifteenth century, the Greater Antilles and Bahama archipelago was the site of repeated migrations, colonizations, and cultural influences from Central and northeastern South America; local island adaptations and innovations; and extensive inter-island and continental interactions. The diverse cultures who occupied these islands are known to us through their rich material and subsistence remains that reflect complex religious beliefs and practices, varied social systems, highly stratified political systems, adaptive land management practices, sophisticated sea-faring capabilities, and a unique system of Caribbean plant and animal use. Here, where the Columbus landfall and European colonization of the Americas first occurred, the earliest images of the American Indian were created in the European imagination and the contributions of American Indians to European culture were initially experienced.