Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
The introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples...Show moreThe introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples and the fluorescence of Huecoid cultures in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. However, the precise regional origins of this animal are currently unknown. Numerous studies have indicated the feasibility of using dogs as an isotopic surrogate for palaeodietary reconstruction in humans, which is telling of the high level of entanglement of humans and dogs expressed in the sharing of foodways. Shared dietary relationships with humans, ritual interment and symbolic depictions of dogs raise questions about the nuanced placement of this animal within the indigenous cultural taxonomies of the insular Caribbean. Dog remains are found both ritually interred and in domestic contexts throughout the region, suggesting that dogs were both highly valued as companions, and also possibly seen as a viable source of food. In order to understand this dichotomous treatment Viveiros de Castro’s “Amerindian perspectivism” and Descola’s notions of “animism” provided theoretical frameworks in which to analysis how dogs featured within the cosmological and cultural taxonomy of pre-colonial peoples in the insular Caribbean. For this study, data generated from archaeozoological and multi-isotopic analyses of dogs from the pre-colonial sites of El Flaco and El Carril in the Dominican Republic was compared to findings from three select sites in the Lesser Antilles: Cathédrale de Basse-Terre and Morel in Guadeloupe, and Hope Estate in St Martin. The aim of this research was to: a) establish the effectiveness of the isotopic surrogacy approach in the Caribbean; b) examine any regional differences reflected in the diets of dogs; c) determine if there are any observable distinctions in the morphology and diets of buried dogs and those uncovered from non-burial contexts; d) and to interpret why this dichotomous treatment was occurring using a perspectival theoretical framework. The results indicate that there may have been at least two morphologically distinct types of dogs in Hispaniola in support of what is mentioned in the ethnohistorical sources. These types likely underwent differential treatment by humans, with one particular type more inclined to be buried suggesting a higher value placed on this breed as a valued companion and consubstantial nonhuman person. The burial of one individual dog alongside the deceased at El Flaco may be a funerary offering, representing a psychopomp in the likeness of the ‘Taíno’ guardian of the dead cemí, Opiyelguobirán.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
Ceramic adornos are found widely distributed throughout the archaeological record of the circum-Caribbean, and it has been argued that they are connected to an immensity of cosmological concepts,...Show moreCeramic adornos are found widely distributed throughout the archaeological record of the circum-Caribbean, and it has been argued that they are connected to an immensity of cosmological concepts, including the creation of the world and the roles of nonhuman beings therein based on ethnohistorical accounts (see Moravetz 1999; 2005; Oudhuis 2008; Petitjean Roget 1975a; 1975b; 1997; Waldron 2010, 2016; Wauben 2016). Moreover, the study of adornos is considered to hold great potential to contribute to our understanding of indigenous peoples’ conceptions of human-nonhuman relations. Nevertheless, previous studies on adornos are few in number and, as a result, many questions concerning the cultural relevance and social role(s) of adornos remain to great extent unanswered. However, the systematic excavation of an assemblage of 277 adornos and/or their fragments from the site of El Flaco (northwestern Dominican Republic), directed by Professors Corinne L. Hofman and Menno L. P. Hoogland as part of the ERC-synergy NEXUS1492 project, provides a unique opportunity to address these issues. The adornos from El Flaco are analyzed according to the method developed by Marlena Mackowiak de Antczak (2000), which combines the analysis of the form (the object and its image), content (its expressive potential) and context (archaeological and social). The main objective of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of the potential social roles of adornos (understood here as their expressive and performative potential) within the society of their creators and users. It is proposed that the adornos from El Flaco may have expressed a multitude of cosmological concepts, which are interpreted to emphasize access to esoteric knowledge, a link to the ancestral lineage, and/or household or communal identity. In this research, the performative potential of the adornos refers to their possible roles as co-enactors in the maintenance of good social relations with particular nonhuman beings and/or as intermediaries between the three planes of cosmos. Finally, the adornos are proposed to have been conceived of as dividual and partible persons, and could, therefore, have played a significant part in the maintenance of social relations among communities through the exchange of adorno-models.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
This thesis utilizes geologic methods and techniques (optical mineralogy and electron microprobe analysis) to characterize certain stone ground-edge artifacts from the site of El Cabo. This has...Show moreThis thesis utilizes geologic methods and techniques (optical mineralogy and electron microprobe analysis) to characterize certain stone ground-edge artifacts from the site of El Cabo. This has been done to locate the provenance of these samples and to build a better understand of the materials used by the Amerindians of the Dominican Republic. This research will also delve into possible rituals that existed with lithic procurement in this region and others. The goals of the thesis are to build a better understand of archaeology and geology of the insular-Caribbean as a whole and to zoom in on the Dominican Republic and the site of El Cabo.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
closed access
Mobility and exchange have been important concepts in Caribbean archaeology, but their potential to address the role of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in ancient Amerindian societies has been...Show moreMobility and exchange have been important concepts in Caribbean archaeology, but their potential to address the role of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in ancient Amerindian societies has been overlooked. This pilot study investigates the possibility of exploring the mobility and/or exchange of the dog by employing strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) on archaeological dog dental elements (n=10). Here, strontium isotope analysis was successfully applied to dog teeth from two Ceramic Age sites on Grande-Terre in Guadeloupe: Anse á la Gourde (AD 900-1350) and Morel (300 BC – AD 1400). Three out of ten (30%) dog elements were determined to be non-local (one from Anse à la Gourde and two from Morel). Potential origins of these dogs are consistent with multiple localities throughout the circum-Caribbean. These mobility patterns of dogs can be caused by complex processes involving their movement and/or exchange. In this study the concepts of migration, spheres of exchange, social valuable and inalienability, have been employed to address dog mobility. Using strontium isotopic analysis it is possible to investigate these processes in ways that can complement the information derived from archaeological, ethnohistoric and ethnographic contexts. This multi-disciplinary approach allows for a comparison of the various interactions of humans with dogs across time and space in Amerindian societies of the circum-Caribbean. The obtained information on this interaction and the strontium isotopic results of the dog teeth can be compared with available (bio)archaeological evidence on patterns of human mobility and artefact exchange. This comparison leads to a more conclusive interpretation of dog mobility patterns and contributes to a better understanding of the networks of mobility and exchange present during the Ceramic Age in the Antilles. This research has highlighted the potentials of the study of human-animal interaction and the contributions that strontium isotope analysis can offer to the understanding of the complex processes of mobility and exchange at work in the circum-Caribbean.Show less
