Strontium and Lead Isotope Evidence for Paleomobility of Introduced Fauna in the Southern Caribbean

Summary

Increasingly, studies seeking to understand the interconnectivity of pre-Columbian Caribbean island societies have employed isotopic approaches to identify the movement of peoples and goods between islands and continents. These investigations advance reconstructions of mobility and exchange, and their social context, by providing robust data on the non-local status of archaeological remains and their ultimate origins. Here we report on the results of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and lead isotope (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb) analyses of introduced South American mammals, agouti (Dasyprocta sp.), opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), and dog (Canis lupus familiaris), in the southern Lesser Antilles during the Ceramic Age, ca. 2500-500 BP. Importantly, we report new data for bioavailable strontium and lead for four islands with variable volcanic and carbonate geologies: Grenada, Carriacou, Mustique, and Barbados. When incorporated with zooarchaeological findings, these data inform on Amerindian exchange, wider socio-economic networks, faunal exploitation, the potential captive management of introduced animals, and their possible ecological impact.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

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