The Caribbean before Columbus

332 Pages·2017·3.57 MB·English

by  William F. Keegan

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The Caribbean before Columbus
ii
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The Caribbean before
Columbus
William F. Keegan and
Corinne l. HoFman
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1
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Keegan, William F., author. | Hofman, Corinne Lisette, author.
Title: The Caribbean before Columbus / William F. Keegan and
Corinne L. Hofman.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016019899 (print) | LCCN 2016021992 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190605247 (hbk) | ISBN 9780190605278 (UPDF) |
ISBN 9780190605261 (EPUB) | ISBN 9780190605254 (pbk)
Subjects: LCSH: Excavations (Archaeology)—West Indies. |
West Indies—Antiquities. | Indians of the West Indies—Antiquities. |
Archaeology—West Indies.
Classification: LCC F1619 .K44 2017 (print) | LCC F1619 (ebook) |
DDC 972.9/01—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019899
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
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CONTENTS
List of Figures and Tables xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
CHapter 1 Caribbean Kaleidoscope 1
Different Ways of Seeing 7
Far Tortuga 9
The Name Game 11
Ciboney and Guanahatebey 12
Indios, Arawak, Taíno, Lucayan, and Igneri 12
Carib and Kalinago 14
Caribbean Archaeology in Practice 15
Changing Frames of Reference 17
Underlying Structure 21
CHapter 2 The Earliest Inhabitants 23
Flaked- Stone Complexes 24
Origins 25
Cultural Characteristics 28
Environmental Considerations 29
Barrera- Mordán Site, Dominican Republic
(c. 4000 bC) 30
Lithic Age Assemblages 32
Ground- Stone Complexes 34
vi
Banwari Trace Site, Trinidad (c. 5000 bC) 36
Origins 37
Climate Change and Anthropogenic
Landscapes 39
Archaic Age Assemblages in the Greater
Antilles 40
Archaic Age Pottery 43
European Encounters with Archaic Age
Communities 47
Conclusions 48
CHapter 3 The Early Ceramic Age 51
From Forest to Sea 54
Creating Identities 59
Trants Site, Montserrat (c. 400 bC to ad 500) 63
Hacienda Grande Site, Puerto Rico (c. ad 150– 500) 65
Redefining the Early Ceramic Age 67
Morel Site, Guadeloupe (c. 400 bC to ad 1400) 68
Settlement Patterns 71
Golden Rock Site, St. Eustatius (c. ad 200 to ad 850) 72
Subsistence Economy 73
Material Culture 74
Sociopolitical Organization 76
Cosmology 79
Conclusions 80
CHapter 4 Post- Saladoid Puerto Rico 83
Dispersion (c. ad 500– 900) 83
Crab/ Shell Dichotomy 84
A Plethora of Pottery Styles 85
Population Growth and Settlement Patterns 89
Rio Tanamá 2 Site (c. cal ad 350– 890) 89
Egalitarian, Hierarchical, or Heterarchical? 93
Settlement Landscape and Community Structure
(ad 900 and Beyond) 95
Rio Tanamá 1 Site (c. cal ad 980– 1490) 97
vi | Contents
vii
Formalization of Exchange 99
Plaza de Estrella, Tibes Ceremonial Center 100
“Taíno” in Puerto Rico? 103
Late Pottery Styles 104
Demography 106
Stone- lined Courts and Plazas 108
Cacicazgos 112
Conclusions 114
CHapter 5 The Meillacoid and Chicoid Worlds 115
Foragers and Farmers 117
Pottery Styles in Hispaniola 118
An Island Divided 122
El Cabo Site, Southeastern Dominican Republic
(c. ad 600– 1500) 123
Northwestern Dominican Republic 125
Meillacoid Revolution 127
El Flaco Site, Northwestern Dominican Republic
(c. ad 900– 1500) 128
Île à Rat Site, Haiti (c. ad 900– 1500) 130
Social Transformations 136
Cacicazgos 137
En Bas Saline Site, Haiti (c. ad 1492) 138
Sweetness and Power 143
Chicoid Expansion 146
Conclusions 147
CHapter 6 Cuba, the Bahama Archipelago, and Jamaica 151
Cuba 152
Preagroalfarera (Archaic Age) 152
Protoagrícola (Incipient Agriculture) 154
Agricultores Ceramistas (Ceramic Age) 155
Regional Integration 160
El Chorro de Maíta, Banes (c. ad 1200
to post–a d 1550) 162
Chicoid Influences 165
Contents | vii
viii
Los Buchillones Site (c. ad 1220– 1640) 167
Conclusions 168
Bahama Archipelago 170
Coralie Site, Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands
(c. ad 700– 1100) 171
Small Islands 173
Governors Beach Site, Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos
Islands (c. ad 1100–1300) 174
Permanent Settlement 177
Late Ceramic Age 181
MC- 6 Site, Middle Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands
(c. ad 1400– 1600) 184
The (Not So) Empty Islands 186
Jamaica 187
Pottery Series as Distinct Cultures 189
Paradise Park Sites, Westmoreland (c. ad 850
and ad 1430) 192
Conclusions 195
CHapter 7 Lesser Antillean Networks 197
The First Islanders 200
Plum Piece Site, Saba (c. 1875– 1520 bC) 204
Late Archaic Age 206
Archaic Age Summary 207
Neolithization of the Lesser Antilles 209
Post- Saladoid Developments 215
Anse à la Gourde Site, Guadeloupe
(c. ad 450– 1350) 216
Windward Islands (Southern Lesser Antilles) 221
Giraudy Site, St. Lucia (c. ad 900– 1500) 222
Social and Political Networks 224
Kelbey’s Ridge 2 Site, Saba (c. ad 1350) 225
Demographic Collapse after ad 1300 229
Morne Cybèle and Morne Souffler Sites, La Désirade
(c. ad 1440– 1460) 229
Kalinago Archaeology 231
Argyle Site, St. Vincent 235
Conclusions 236
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CHapter 8 Caribbean Encounters 239
Columbus and Cannibals 240
Cannibal Raids or Indigenous Trade? 242
Colonial Emergence 243
Language 247
Archaeological Research 248
Indigenous Settlements 250
Subsistence 250
Social Organization 251
Cacicazgos (Chiefdoms) 252
Mythology and Religion 254
Demography 255
Early Colonial European Chroniclers and the French
Missionaries 257
Kaleidoscope: The Final Turn 258
References 261
Index 315
Contents | ix