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The pre-Columbian site of Roseau (Guadeloupe, F. W. I.): intra-site chronological variability of the subsistence strategies in a Late Ceramic archeological vertebrate assemblage

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Abstract

Evidence for chronological change in intra-site subsistence strategies is very rare in the Amerindian record of the Lesser Antilles. The study of the vertebrate assemblage from the archeological site of Roseau in the Guadeloupe Islands underlines the complexity and variability of Ceramic Age Amerindian subsistence behavior. This study establishes a more precise chronology of the previously identified strata of the site, and demonstrates that the Contact period was only represented by rare archeological artifacts dispersed in the stratigraphy. The results from this assemblage indicate that the earlier occupations of the site exhibit a more intensive exploitation of aquatic vertebrate resources compared to later occupations, which have a larger focus on terrestrial fauna, especially rodents and iguanas. This unusual pattern highlights how subsistence behaviors in the Lesser Antilles during the Late and Final Ceramic periods were highly variable. This new evidence of strong inter-site variability shows that the behaviors of Amerindians are not only dependent of large-scale environmental conditions but also influenced by more complex socio-cultural and local environmental parameters.

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Data availability

All the data used in this study are available in the text of the paper and in the Supplementary Materials. The studied archeological material is stored in a public repository in the Service Régional de l’Archéologie of Guadeloupe (Le Moule, Guadeloupe).

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Gérard Richard who provided very useful published and unpublished information regarding the archeological context of the Roseau material. We are also grateful to the two anonymous reviewers whose comments helped us to improve the quality of this paper. We are also grateful to Jean-Baptiste Mallye, Stéphane Rottier, and Violaine Palacio for their assistance in the identification and digitization of the large mammal bones selected for ZooMS analyses. We also thank Véronique Laroulandie and David Steadman for their advice regarding the identification of select bird remains, as well as C. Lefèvre, M. Florence, and C. Milensky for enabling the access to modern bird osteological collections.

Funding

This study was funded by the FEDER program 2016–2020 “Ecosystème insulaire tropical, réponse de la faune vertebrae terrestre à 6 000 ans d’anthropisation de la Guadeloupe” (ECSIT), operated by the CNRS and funded by a European PO-FEDER 2014–2020 grant (grant n°2016-FED-503), the Guadeloupe Regional Council, and the DAC of Guadeloupe. The paleoproteomic analysis was funded by the Max Planck Society.

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A.L. and C.B. designed the study; C. B. and A. L. drafted the paper; A. L. performed the chronological and stratigraphic analysis of the deposit; A. L. L. and B. B. performed the ceramic analysis; B. E. studied the fish remains; C. B. studied the reptile remains; M. G. studied the bird remains; D. C. studied the small mammal remains; C. B., D. C., and S. R. studied the large mammal remains; K. K. R. performed the paleoproteomic analysis; and all authors contributed to scientific and editorial input in the final version of the paper.

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Correspondence to Corentin Bochaton.

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Bochaton, C., Ephrem, B., Bérard, B. et al. The pre-Columbian site of Roseau (Guadeloupe, F. W. I.): intra-site chronological variability of the subsistence strategies in a Late Ceramic archeological vertebrate assemblage. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 13, 16 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01246-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01246-4

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