Maritime to the Max: The Keys to Success for Small Island Populations in the Caribbean

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Human Behavioral Ecology at the Coastal Margins: Global Perspectives on Coastal & Maritime Adaptations" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The land-sea dichotomy has structured many historic debates surrounding coastal populations in the pre-Columbian Caribbean. Settlement, subsistence, exchange and cultural affiliation have all been measured on a terrestrial versus marine continuum which often undervalues the primacy of the sea in supporting and motivating the colonization, migration and expansion of island populations. Particularly for small island populations in the Lesser Antilles, the productivity of local marine environments is argued to have been essential for attracting and sustaining coastal populations and a highly specialized maritime adaptation is argued to have mitigated risks, including those associated with limited terrestrial resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Human Behavioral Ecology at the Coastal Margins: Global Perspectives on Coastal & Maritime Adaptations   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25605