A Deposit is More Than the Sum of It's Artifacts: A Case Study from Centro Ceremonial Indigena de Tibes, Puerto Rico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "From Middens to Museums: Papers in Honor of Julie K. Stein" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Constructing the depositional history of an archaeological deposit requires identifying and describing the physical attributes of the sediment particles, including artifacts. Observable changes in the physical properties is the basis for distinguishing one archaeological deposit from another. The Ceremonial Center of Tibes, Puerto Rico provides the ideal case study to demonstrate the importance of differentiating deposits in archaeological contexts. Tibes was originally founded as a small village in A.D. 1. Between A.D. 600 and A.D. 900 changes occurred in the social, economic, and political systems that resulted in a significant transformation to the Tibes landscape. Multiple ball courts and plazas were constructed that reorganized the landscape and use of space. Current research has uncovered evidence of natural transformation processes that also played a role in the development of the cultural landscape at Tibes. Geoarchaeological, archaeological, and radiometric evidence suggest that a major flood event associated with a prehistoric hurricane occurred during late occupation at the site, sometime between A.D. 800 and A.D. 900. These results are compared to similar conclusions from other parts of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• From Middens to Museums: Papers in Honor of Julie K. Stein

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22965