Archaic Ingenuity through Continuous Change

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Coloring Outside the Lines: Re-situating Understandings of the Lifeways of Earliest Peoples of the Circum-Caribbean" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaic groups worldwide are often categorized as less technically and culturally developed. However, their deep understanding of nature and their environment and ability to translate this knowledge to adapt to new circumstances proves otherwise. Paleoclimatic research in the Caribbean has shown that the region endured significant climate variability throughout the Holocene. Alternating cycles of wet and dry conditions contributed to extreme weather events, which, together with relative sea level rise, severely impacted the environment, available resources, and the ability of islanders to secure water, food, and shelter. In this paper, we look at Aruba, one of the driest islands in the region, and Saba, located in the hurricane belt of the northern Lesser Antilles. Our research shows that Archaic peoples on both islands were able to continuously adapt their lifeways to the natural hazards and climatic challenges they faced. Through the development of a deep understanding of nature and the building of social relationships, knowledge exchange, and intensive mainland-island and interisland mobility, early settlers introduced sustainable ways to construct their shelters, manage their water supplies, and produce foodstuffs that were adapted to the environmental conditions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Coloring Outside the Lines: Re-situating Understandings of the Lifeways of Earliest Peoples of the Circum-Caribbean   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41577.0