Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago

DOCUMENT Citation Only William Keegan. Michael Pateman.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. It has long been assumed that the Bahamas were colonized by Ceramic Age peoples who began their expansion into the Caribbean islands from northeastern South America about 500 BC. The widespread occurrence of pottery in the Bahamas (Palmetto Ware), and the timing of initial ‘Lucayan" settlement in the Bahamas is dated to AD 700-800 ...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Rick Schulting. Joanna Ostapkowicz. Michael Pateman. William Keegan. Fiona Brock.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Bahamas were among the last islands to be settled in the Caribbean, with no known occupation prior to ca. AD 600 and reportedly complete depopulation by ca. AD 1520. The constrained island setting and restricted timescale provides an excellent opportunity to address a range of questions relating to island adaptations, all...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Dawn Beamer. Lisa Park Boush. Mary Jane Berman. Perry Gnivecki. Amy Myrbo.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The islands of the Lesser and Greater Antilles were permanently settled as early as 8000 ybp, but the earliest human presence in the Bahama archipelago is dated ~1200 ybp, some 6700 years later. It has been noted that a connection between climate variations in the Caribbean/West Atlantic region may be the key to understanding the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Christophe Snoeck. Rick Schulting. Michael Pateman. William F. Keegan. Joanna Ostapkowicz.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Initial settlement of the Bahamian archipelago is currently thought to have derived from Cuba and/or Hispaniola. The first forays may have been seasonal, with permanent settlement not in evidence until ca. AD 1000. As well as initial settlement, we might expect a continued movement of individuals between the Greater Antilles and the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Matt O'Mansky. Thomas Delvaux. David Parker. Ronald Madeline.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Youngstown State University archaeologists have conducted research on San Salvador Island since 1995, initially under the direction of Gary Fry and, later, of Thomas Delvaux and Matt O’Mansky. This research has focused on three sites on the east side of the island: the North Storr’s Lake site (SS-4), the Fresh Lake site (SS-7), and...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Andy Ciofalo. Corinne L. Hofman.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Precolonial foodways in the northern Caribbean have received restricted investigations. This paper is a synopsis of microbotanical residues extracted from clay griddles (flat cooking plates) excavated from three archaeological sites: El Flaco, La Luperona, and Palmetto Junction. Social identities are strongly linked to cultural...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Michael Pateman. William Keegan.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The first archaeological evidence for the native peoples of the Bahama archipelago was found in dry caves, many of which were excavated for cave earth to fertilize agricultural fields. Human remains were found in some of these caves, but in such small numbers it was thought this could not have been the only location in which the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Joanna Ostapkowicz.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Exotic hard stone materials (e.g., jadeites, cherts, basalts) and artefacts were imported into the entirely limestone Lucayan archipelago (The Bahamas/Turks and Caicos Islands) post-AD 700, to fulfil both functional and ceremonial needs. Many of these pieces were removed from their original contexts during the 19th/early 20th...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Shaun Sullivan.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Middle Caicos, in the Turks & Caicos islands hosted a protohistoric Chiefdom in the Classic Taino tradition as demonstrated by evidence of regional exchange, key resource control, social stratification, monumental public works, and the use of public ceremonial space that reflected advanced astronomical and calendric knowledge among...

DOCUMENT Citation Only William Schaffer. Robert Carr.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Caves act as the mythological archetype and physical portals that validate the cosmogony-cosmology-eschatology spectrum of many past and present human societies. Among the prehistoric Lucayan-Taíno of the Bahamas, caves played an important role in both validating perceptions of the cosmos, but also the maintenance of ancestral...

DOCUMENT Citation Only John Pouncett. Emma Slayton. Gareth Davies. Antonio García Casco. Joanna Ostapkowicz.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper presents results from Project SIBA, an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project that aims to: 1) characterise the regional social networks that bound the Lucayan archipelago to the wider Caribbean region, and; 2) provide an understanding of the creation and maintenance of indigenous exchange networks. The...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Michelle LeFebvre. Lee Newsom. Rachel Woodcock. Andy Ciofalo. Michael Pateman.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. LN-101 is a multi-component Lucayan site located on the windward coast of Long Island in The Bahamas. The site is situated along sand dunes directly on the beach and is characterized by the presence of earth ovens, evidence of bead manufacture, and associated human burials, with a notable absence of dense midden deposits or features...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Mary Jane Berman. Ieva Juska. Perry Gnivecki.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. We compared molluscan faunal assemblages from two neighboring Lucayan sites, the Pigeon Creek dune 1 (Late Lucayan) and the Pigeon Creek dune 2 (Early Lucayan) sites located on San Salvador, Bahamas. Two species, Lombatus gigas (Queen Conch) and Codakia orbicularis (Tiger Lucine), demonstrated the most significant temporal change in...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Pete Sinelli.

This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Palmetto Junction site on Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands provides an abundant and diverse ceramic assemblage. These artifacts help describe movements of people, goods, and ideas among Lucayan Taino groups in the Bahama archipelago and affiliated Greater Antillean settlements to the south. The assemblage includes...