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Historically, archaeologists have pursued two basic approaches to prehistoric Caribbean colonization: those relying on historical narratives and those informed by theoretical modelling. With few exceptions, the latter have not been widely employed. Here, we introduce a behavioural ecology model used in Pacific archaeology, the ideal free distribution (IFD), to understand Caribbean migration and island settlement as a form of adaptive behaviour. We assess the sequences of Ceramic Age (post-2500 BP) colonization and overall prehistoric island colonization for fit against the predictions of the IFD using terrestrial net primary production and island area as measures of habitat suitability. We conclude that certain aspects of Caribbean colonization -the initial settlement of larger, high-quality-habitat islands and temporal pauses between migration pulses -are consistent with the IFD. Model inconsistencies observed for Ceramic Age colonization, however, are best explained in terms of the limitations of Pre-Columbian seafaring and territorial behaviour on the part of pre-existing Archaic occupants.

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Previous research at the Chelechol ra Orrak site in Palau, Micronesia suggested that fishing may have declined prehistorically over the past two thousand years. Here we discuss the analysis of an additional suite of archaeofish remains recovered from the site that significantly expands the size of the previous assemblage, providing a more robust interpretation of prehistoric fishing in the archipelago. Results indicate that although all phases of occupation show diverse and relatively equitable exploitation of fish taxa, there are statistically significant changes in fishing over time when feeding guild (general ecological niche) is considered. In addition, the number of fish remains declines by an order of magnitude between early (1400–1240 BP) and later (1290–720 BP and 500–0 BP) occupation phases. Although various factors may be responsible for this dramatic decrease, it is generally correlated with settlement changes and possible increasing agricultural production in Palau. Thus, a decline in the overall importance of fishing may account for the changes observed in the archaeofish assemblage over time.

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Aim This paper investigates the prehistoric introduction of five mammalian taxa to Carriacou (Lesser Antilles) and refines the known anthropogenic ranges for these fauna in the pre-Columbian West Indies. The importance of such records for understanding the region's historical biogeography and ecology is considered.Location Carriacou Island, Grenada (12°28¢ N, 61°26¢ W).Methods Zooarchaeological assemblages from Carriacou's earliest documented prehistoric sites, Grand Bay and Sabazan, were analysed, and exotic taxa were identified and quantified. The timing of introductions was established based on multiple radiocarbon assays, including three new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) direct dates obtained on the bone of exotic taxa. Source species and location(s) are considered and compared with known prehistoric records for the Caribbean to synthesize anthropogenic distributions for the pre-Columbian period. The contexts of the zooarchaeological remains are evaluated to better understand the nature and purpose of introductions.Results Zooarchaeological investigation on Carriacou reveals the occurrence of multiple mammal introductions from South American between c. ad 700 and ad 1400. This paper presents the first records for guinea pig (Cavia sp.), armadillo (Dasypus sp.), peccary (Tayassu/Pecari sp.), opossum (Didelphis sp.) and agouti (Dasyprocta sp.) from the island. Human-mediated transport of these taxa is indicated by their absence from the record prior to human settlement of Carriacou. Several translocated species are either rare or entirely unknown for the region, and overall West Indian distributions are temporally and spatially discontinuous. Archaeological contexts indicate that mammalian introductions arose from human subsistence needs, but other social factors may have shaped the dispersal of these fauna. Main conclusionsThe taxonomic combination and richness of Carriacou's introduced fauna are unusual within the region. Importantly, the new records significantly improve the known pre-Columbian geographic range for peccary, guinea pig and armadillo. Integrated with regional records, these data augment our understanding of the Caribbean's historical biogeography, and have the potential to improve our understanding of human mobility and anthropogenic environmental impacts in the West Indies prior to the arrival of Europeans.