Menno Hoogland

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.

Unexpected evolutionary diversity in a recently extinct Caribbean mammal radiation

Identifying general patterns of colonization and radiation in island faunas is often hindered by past human-caused extinctions. The insular Caribbean is one of the only complex oceanic-type island systems colonized by land mammals, but has witnessed the globally highest level of mammalian extinction during the Holocene. Using ancient DNA analysis, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of one of the Caribbeans now-extinct major mammal groups, the insular radiation of oryzomyine rice rats. Despite the significant problems of recovering DNA from prehistoric tropical archaeological material, it was possible to identify two discrete Late Miocene colonizations of the main Lesser Antillean island chain from mainland South America by oryzomyine lineages that were only distantly related. A high level of phylogenetic diversification was observed within oryzomyines across the Lesser Antilles, even between allopatric populations on the same island bank. The timing of oryzomyine colonization is closely similar to the age of several other Caribbean vertebrate taxa, suggesting that geomorphological conditions during the Late Miocene facilitated broadly simultaneous overwater waif dispersal of many South American lineages to the Lesser Antilles. These data provide an important baseline by which to further develop the Caribbean as a unique workshop for studying island evolution.

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.

Osteological evidence of short-limbed dwarfism in a nineteenth century Dutch family: Achondroplasia or hypochondroplasia

An opportunity to explore osteological features of a form of disproportionate dwarfism is presented by a recent archaeological discovery. Excavation of a predominately nineteenth century Dutch cemetery from the rural, agricultural village of Middenbeemster revealed an older adult female with skeletal changes consistent with achondroplasia. The most marked features are a rhizomelic pattern of shortened and thickened upper and lower limbs, frontal bossing and a moderately depressed nasal bridge, small lumbar neural canals with short pedicles, bowing of the femora and tibiae, and short stature (130.0±5cm). However, some common features of achondroplasia like cranial base reduction and shortened fingers and toes are absent. The alternative diagnosis of a more mild form of short-limbed dwarfism, hypochondroplasia, is explored and aided by archival identification of the individual and her offspring. Five offspring, including three perinates, a 10-year-old daughter, and a 21-year-old son, are analysed for evidence of an inherited skeletal dysplasia. The unique addition of family history to the paleopathological diagnostic process supports a differential outcome of hypochondroplasia. This combination of osteological and archival data creates a unique opportunity to track the inheritance and manifestation of a rare disease in a past population.

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.

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.

Resilience in Pre-Columbian Caribbean House-Building: Dialogue Between Archaeology and Humanitarian Shelter.

This paper responds to questions posed by archaeologists and engineers in the humanitarian sector about relationships between shelter, disasters and resilience. Enabled by an increase in horizontal excavations combined with high-resolution settlement data from excavations in the Dominican Republic, the paper presents a synthesis of Caribbean house data spanning a millennium (1400 BP- 450 BP). An analysis of architectural traits identify the house as an institution that constitutes and catalyses change in an emergent and resilient pathway. The “Caribbean architectural mode” emerged in a period of demographic expansion and cultural transition, was geographically widespread, different from earlier and mainland traditions and endured the hazards of island and coastal ecologies. We use archaeological analysis at the house level to consider the historical, ecological and regional dimensions of resilience in humanitarian action

Indigenous Caribbean perspectives: archaeologies and legacies of the first colonised region in the New World

Abstract The role of pre-contact indigenous peoples in shaping contemporary multi-ethnic society in Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and elsewhere in the Caribbean, has been downplayed by traditional narratives of colonialism. Archaeological surveys in the northern Dominican Republic and open-area excavations at three (pre-)Contact-era Amerindian settlements, combined with historical sources and ethnographic surveys, show that this view needs revising. Indigenous knowledge of the landscape was key to the success of early Europeans in gaining control of the area, but also survives quite clearly in many aspects of contemporary culture and daily life that have, until now, been largely overlooked.