<html>Stable Isotope and Radiocarbon Evidence for Caribbean Indigenous Relationships with an Introduced Rodent: Agouti (<i>Dasyprotca</i>) in the Pre-Contact Lesser Antilles</html>
Author(s): Christina Giovas
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "Global Perspectives on Biomolecular Approaches to Human-Animal Interactions Past and Present" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
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In the island Caribbean, the arrival of Indigenous peoples from South America during the Ceramic Age (ca. 2500-500 BP) was accompanied by introductions of continental animals and the inter-island movement of exotic species. These Indigenous efforts to reshape the island bioscapes have prompted speculation about the nature of human relationships with introduced animals and inquiry into the possibility of garden-hunting, pet keeping, animal management, and domestication. Among the most widely dispersed animal introduced in this period was the agouti (Dasyprocta sp.), a medium-sized rodent whose skeletal remains are found in archaeological sites throughout the Lesser Antilles, often appearing as burned remains in midden contexts, consistent with dietary consumption. Here we report new stable carbon (δ<sup>13</sup>C) and nitrogen (δ<sup>15</sup>N) isotope data and radiocarbon dates for agouti that inform this species’ earliest Caribbean introduction and questions about Indigenous management practices, including possible captive management. Our data represent the largest, most spatially extensive sample of archaeological agouti tested to date.
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Cite this Record
Stable Isotope and Radiocarbon Evidence for Caribbean Indigenous Relationships with an Introduced Rodent: Agouti (Dasyprotca) in the Pre-Contact Lesser Antilles. Christina Giovas. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 509634)
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Keywords
General
ancient DNA
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Worldwide
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Zooarchaeology
Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 52483