Modeling Water Routes Through a Divide: Retracing Movement from the Greater Antilles to the Lesser Antilles in the Late Ceramic Age.

Summary

This paper focuses on modeling hypothetical sea routes between islands within the Caribbean Sea to try and redraw the map of social mobility and material exchange that existed during the Late Ceramic Age (A.D. 1250–1400). With the emphasis for modeling canoe pathways more focused on uncovering possible colonization routes, this map has yet to be thoroughly explored. However, analyzing the back and forth of travel between two sites known to be occupied during the same period can open up ideas on who was in contact due to the ease of connection between them. There are still many questions surrounding the specifics of difficulty and general progression of movement between the Caribbean Islands, in particular the connection between communities living in the Greater and Lesser Antilles during this period. Computer models of routes can provide more insight. The approach to modeling these pathways utilized a least-cost isochrone method to highlight time as a route cost. Additionally, as the models are based on environmental data—specifically current and wind—it is possible to evaluate seasonal trends.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Exploring Movement on Water: A Global Comparison of Naval Technology and Navigation Techniques

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14930