Conceptualizing the Caribbean Archaeological Record. Interpreting features from an ethnographic perspective at the Late Ceramic Age site of El Flaco in the northwestern Dominican Republic

Ethnoarchaeological studies in the pre-colonial Caribbean are limited. This research presents a pilot investigation that employs an innovative approach to understanding the spatial and temporal developments of the Late Ceramic Age site of El Flaco, northwestern Dominican Republic (excavated in the context of the ERC-synergy project Nexus1492: New World Encounters in a Globalising World), through the study of three key features: postholes, hearths, and mounds. These are material manifestations of past human activities and inform archaeologists on issues of structure building activities, cooking activities, and the myriad activities that result in the stratigraphic build-up of mounds. Following Ingold (1993, 2000), this research approaches each sample of studied features as a place-based taskscape. This allows each feature to be studied separately, as well as in relation to each other. To subsequently arrive at a well-informed interpretation, the archaeological record is...Show moreEthnoarchaeological studies in the pre-colonial Caribbean are limited. This research presents a pilot investigation that employs an innovative approach to understanding the spatial and temporal developments of the Late Ceramic Age site of El Flaco, northwestern Dominican Republic (excavated in the context of the ERC-synergy project Nexus1492: New World Encounters in a Globalising World), through the study of three key features: postholes, hearths, and mounds. These are material manifestations of past human activities and inform archaeologists on issues of structure building activities, cooking activities, and the myriad activities that result in the stratigraphic build-up of mounds. Following Ingold (1993, 2000), this research approaches each sample of studied features as a place-based taskscape. This allows each feature to be studied separately, as well as in relation to each other. To subsequently arrive at a well-informed interpretation, the archaeological record is conceptualized with the use of an interpretative visibility (sensu Mans 2012, 179). The interpretative visibility is developed and enhanced by consulting archaeological and ethnographic sources focused on the pre-colonial and modern Indigenous lifeways of Amazonia, as well as on archaeological sources focused on Indigenous lifeways of the pre-colonial Insular Caribbean. Moreover, it is supplemented by three informal ethnographic case studies of present-day living situations in the northwestern Dominican Republic. To translate the interpretative visibility to the archaeological record of El Flaco, methodological parameters have been extracted from the ethnoarchaeological studies conducted in modern Amazonia by Mans (2012) and Duin (2009). The interpretative visibility intends to function as a source of inspiration for the interpretation of the archaeological record of El Flaco. It does not intend to equate one with the other. By contrasting and comparing the interpretative framework with the archaeological data, using the methodological parameters extracted from the studies by Mans (2012) and Duin (2009), this research has developed meaningful interpretations of the spatial interrelationships and developments of the features studied. The analysis of posthole features confirms the presence of a large habitation structure that was periodically repaired or perhaps fully rebuilt over time. Hearth features evidence a use in both domestic and ritual spheres and are characteristically different dependent on their use. Finally, the stratigraphy of the mounds attests to both long- and short-term activities that take place on the mounds, such as the burning of trash, or elsewhere at the site, such as the building of new structures. The results of this study successfully contribute towards the understanding of the dynamics and developments of the pre-colonial village of El Flaco through space and time.Show less

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Conceptualizing the Caribbean Archaeological Record. Interpreting features from an ethnographic perspective at the Late Ceramic Age site of El Flaco in the northwestern Dominican Republic