The Queen of the Archipelago: Indigenous food extraction techniques from Queen Conch shells at Spaanse Water, Curaçao, c. 2800 BCE - 150 CE

Molluscan shell remains are among the most widespread materials to be found at pre-Columbian archaeological sites in the Caribbean. Particularly that of the Queen Conch (Aliger gigas, previously known as Strombus gigas or Lobatus gigas), which became a significant resource for Amerindians throughout the region during the Archaic and formed a central part of many coastal Caribbean economies during the Ceramic. Not only as a source of food, providing plenty of meat, but also for its shell which provided as a handy source material for tools and ornaments. The extraction of meat from the shell of Aliger gigas comes in a variety of techniques, from breaking open the shell, to perforating a part of the shell’s spire to cut the animal loose, to burning the shell, but also to simply let the animal out to dry or decompose. The prevalence of some of these techniques over others is an interesting topic in archaeomalacology that is often overshadowed by tool and ornament manufacture. Perhaps...Show moreMolluscan shell remains are among the most widespread materials to be found at pre-Columbian archaeological sites in the Caribbean. Particularly that of the Queen Conch (Aliger gigas, previously known as Strombus gigas or Lobatus gigas), which became a significant resource for Amerindians throughout the region during the Archaic and formed a central part of many coastal Caribbean economies during the Ceramic. Not only as a source of food, providing plenty of meat, but also for its shell which provided as a handy source material for tools and ornaments. The extraction of meat from the shell of Aliger gigas comes in a variety of techniques, from breaking open the shell, to perforating a part of the shell’s spire to cut the animal loose, to burning the shell, but also to simply let the animal out to dry or decompose. The prevalence of some of these techniques over others is an interesting topic in archaeomalacology that is often overshadowed by tool and ornament manufacture. Perhaps most relevant is the research done by Antczak in the Los Roques archipelago, Venezuela. The ABC-islands, and particularly Curaçao, were particularly reliant on Queen Conch, as a food source as well as a source material for tools. In this thesis, the author examines a sample of Aliger gigas individuals taken from the excavations performed by Leiden University at Spaanse Water, Curaçao, to try and understand which food extraction techniques are still visible in the shell assemblage. Shells are analysed on macro-scale, and visible traces of alteration are recorded using a make-shift typology based on prior research and stored in a database. Results show a clear inclination towards food extraction that leave no mark on the shell (i.e., drying, heating, or decomposing), followed by other techniques such as breaking and perforating. Quantitative conclusions are hard to make, as the sample set is a rather small part of the total Aliger gigas assemblage of Spaanse Water. In any case, the high level of variability in extraction techniques raises questions that might require future research to look at food extraction as a cultural process, not unlike tool and ornament manufacture.Show less

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The Queen of the Archipelago: Indigenous food extraction techniques from Queen Conch shells at Spaanse Water, Curaçao, c. 2800 BCE - 150 CE