Encyclopedia Of Caribbean Archaeology

Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology offers a comprehensive overview of the available archaeological research conducted in the region. Beginning with the earliest native migrations and moving through contemporary issues of heritage management, the contributors tackle the usual questions of colonization, adaptation, and evolution while embracing newer research techniques, such as geoinformatics, archaeometry, paleodemography, DNA analysis, and seafaring simulations. Entries are cross-referenced so that readers can efficiently access data on a variety of related topics. The introduction includes a survey of the various archaeological periods in the Caribbean, as well as a discussion of the region’s geography, climate, topography, and oceanography. It also offers an easy-to-read review of the historical archaeology, providing a better understanding of the cultural contexts of the Caribbean that resulted from the convergence of European, Native American, African, and then Asian settlers.

This is a comprehensive sourcebook on the archaeology, folklore and mythology of the entire Caribbean region. Drawing on decades of study in the Caribbean and South America, it explores archaeological sites, like Caguana in Puerto Rico and plantation sites, like Jamaica's Drax hall.

A true "first," this encyclopedia is the only comprehensive guide ever published on the archaeology and traditional culture of the Caribbean. In The Peoples of the Caribbean, archaeologist Nicholas J. Saunders assembles for the first time a comprehensive sourcebook on the archaeology, folklore, and mythology of the entire region, charting a story 7,000 years in the making. Drawing on decades of study in the Caribbean and South America, Saunders explores landmark archaeological sites, such as Caguana in Puerto Rico, with its ceremonial architecture and ballcourts, and plantation sites, such as Jamaica's Drax Hall. The author dives into the underwater archaeology of Spanish treasure galleons and untangles stories of cannibalism, zombies, and hallucinogenic snuffing rituals. He examines the impact of key Europeans, such as Christopher Columbus, and introduces readers to the native people, such as the Arawak, who welcomed them. Bringing the story up-to-date, Saunders chronicles the struggle of the indigenous people, from the Caribs of Dominica to the Taíno of the Dominican Republic, trying to reclaim and revitalize their historical cultural identity.

The Encyclopedia of Prehistory represents temporal dimension. Major traditions are an attempt to provide basic information also defined by a somewhat different set of on all archaeologically known cultures, sociocultural characteristics than are eth covering the entire globe and the entire nological cultures. Major traditions are prehistory of humankind. It is designed as defined based on common subsistence a tool to assist in doing comparative practices, sociopolitical organization, and research on the peoples of the past. Most material industries, but language, ideology, of the entries are written by the world's and kinship ties play little or no part in foremost experts on the particular areas their definition because they are virtually and time periods. unrecoverable from archaeological con The Encyclopedia is organized accord texts. In contrast, language, ideology, and ing to major traditions. A major tradition kinship ties are central to defining ethno is defined as a group of populations sharing logical cultures. similar subsistence practices, technology, There are three types of entries in the and forms of sociopolitical organization, Encyclopedia: the major tradition entry, which are spatially contiguous over a rela the regional subtradition entry, and the tively large area and which endure tempo site entry. Each contains different types of rally for a relatively long period. Minimal information, and each is intended to be areal coverage for a major tradition can used in a different way.

Comprising 17 chapters and with a wide geographic reach stretching from the Florida Keys in the north to the Guianas in the south, this volume places a well-needed academic spotlight on what is generally considered an integral topic in Caribbean and circum-Caribbean archaeology. The book explores a variety of issues, including the introduction and dispersal of early cultivars, plant manipulation, animal domestication, dietary profiles, and landscape modifications. Tried-and-true and novel analytical techniques are used to tease out aspects of the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean database that inform the complex and often-subtle processes of domestication under varying socio-environmental conditions. Contributors discuss their findings within multiple constructs such as neolithisation, social interaction, trade, mobility, social complexity, migration, colonisation, and historical ecology. Multiple data sources are used which include but are not restricted to rock art, cooking pits and pots, stable isotopes, dental calculus and pathologies, starch grains, and proxies for past environmental conditions. Given its multi-disciplinary approaches, this volume should be of immense value to both researchers and students of Caribbean archaeology, biogeography, ethnobotany, zooarchaeology, historical ecology, agriculture, environmental studies, history, and other related fields.

Originally built in 1844 and rebuilt in 1907 after being gutted by fire during the 1903 water riots, the Red House has been the seat of Trinidad and Tobago's parliament for over one hundred years. As a result of archaeological discoveries made in the basement of theRed House in March-April 2013, the Office of the Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago hired Basil A. Reid and his archaeological crew of local and international scholars to undertake a detailed study of the site from July 2013 to January 2015.The archaeological data suggest that centuries before the Red House building was originally constructed, a relatively large native community (comprised of the Saladoid and their descendants) lived continuously at the site for over one thousand years. Featured in the volume are significant findings relating to the biological profiles, DNA, diet and subsistence, mobility, and ceramic technology of these precolonial natives.This work showcases a diverse collection of both precolonial and colonial-period artefacts; the role of the site's precolonial inhabitants as dynamic, self-reflexive history makers; and the colonial history of the Red House from earliest times to 1907. Finally, the volume explores the GIS Archaeological Information System that was developed for the project coupled with the specific heritage-management approaches that were utilized.The chapters in this collection are based on groundbreaking archaeological scholarship with a multidisciplinary approach, and as such the book will be of considerable interest to Caribbean archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, anthropologists, historians and heritage professionals. The book will also be of interest to general readers in the Caribbean and beyond, especially the people of Trinidad and Tobago.CONTRIBUTORS: Zara Ali, Patrick Degryse, Louise Dover, Makini Emmanuel, Lanya Fanovich, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Timothy Figol, Georgia L. Fox, Lovell Francis, Sade Grant, Corinne L. Hofman, Sarah Hosein, Neil Jaggassar, George D. Kamenov, John Krigbaum, Mary Malainey, Andrew Maurice, D. Andrew Merriwether, Patrisha L. Meyers, Bert Neyt, Basil A. Reid, Samuel Reyes, Mike G. Rutherford, John J. Schultz, Amit Seeram, Peter E. Siegel, Michel Shamoon-Pour,Krystal Singh, Michael Sutherland, J. Marla Toyne, Laura Van Voorhis, Gifford Waters, Brent WilsonBASIL A. REID is Professor of Archaeology, Department of History, the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. His publications include Archaeology and Geoinformatics: Case Studies from the Caribbean; Myths and Realities of Caribbean History; Caribbean Heritage; Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology; and The Archaeology of Caribbean and Circum-Caribbean Farmers 6000 BC-AD 1500.

A ground-breaking compendium about the ever-growing field of archaeological history, concentrating on the post-1400 period. Compiled by 120 experts from around the world, with over 370 entries, this is an exhaustive resource.

Ethnographic Insights on Latin America and the Caribbean offers a compelling introduction to the region by providing a series of ethnographic case studies that examine the most pressing issues communities are facing today. These case studies address key topics such as inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Black racism, resistance against extractive industries, migration and transnational families, revitalization of Indigenous languages, art and solidarity in the wake of political violence, resilience in the face of climate change, and recent social movements. Designed for courses in a variety of disciplines, this expansive volume is organized in thematic sections, with introductions that draw important connections between chapters. The first section provides essential background on ethnography, archaeology, and history, while chapters in the following sections center local perspectives, strategies, and voices. Each chapter ends with reflection and discussion questions, key concepts with definitions, and resources to explore further. Presenting a snapshot of life during the early decades of the twenty-first century, Ethnographic Insights on Latin America and the Caribbean illuminates the structural forces and human agency that are determining the future of the region and the world.