Birdmen, cemís and duhos: material studies and AMS 14C dating of Pre-Hispanic Caribbean wood sculptures in the British Museum

Ostapkowicz, Joanna; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Brock, Fiona; Cartwright, Caroline; Stacey, Rebecca; Richards, Mike

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.07.015

Cited by 23 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Saharan dust 87 Sr/ 86 Sr is mostly between 0.715 and 0.718 [76] and thus much higher (more radiogenic) than any of the seawater precipitated carbonate rocks that dominate The Bahamas geology. However, Schulting et al [77] conducted an extensive strontium isotope study of modern trees from The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands and the data were all within the strontium range of modern seawater (see also [78, 79]). Carbonate rocks naturally contain very high Sr concentrations and apparently, the Saharan dust strontium contribution is not significant enough to affect the strontium isotopic compositions of the local soils and plants.…”

Section: Methods and Materials Of Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The zooarchaeology and isotopic ecology of the Bahamian hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami): Evidence for pre-Columbian anthropogenic management

et al. 2019

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Bahamian hutias (Geocapromys ingrahami) are the only endemic terrestrial mammal in The Bahamas and are currently classified as a vulnerable species. Drawing on zooarchaeological and new geochemical datasets, this study investigates human management of Bahamian hutias as cultural practice at indigenous Lucayan settlements in The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands. In order to determine how hutia diet and distribution together were influenced by Lucayan groups we conducted isotopic analysis on native hutia bone and tooth enamel recovered at the Major’s Landing site on Crooked Island in The Bahamas and introduced hutias from the Palmetto Junction site on Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Results indicate that some hutias consumed 13C-enriched foods that were either provisioned or available for opportunistic consumption. Strontium isotope ratios for hutia tooth enamel show a narrow range consistent with local origin for all of the archaeological specimens. In contrast, analysis of strontium isotopes in modern Bahamian hutia teeth from animals relocated to Florida from The Bahamas demonstrates that these animals rapidly lost their Bahamian signature and adopted a Florida signature. Therefore, strontium should be used cautiously for determining hutia provenance, particularly for individuals that were translocated between islands. Overall, our findings suggest that ancient human presence did not always result in hutia vulnerability and that the impact to hutia populations was variable across pre-Columbian indigenous settlements.

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Section: Methods and Materials Of Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The zooarchaeology and isotopic ecology of the Bahamian hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami): Evidence for pre-Columbian anthropogenic management

et al. 2019

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“…There have been a number of studies from a range of disciplines employing Sr isotopes in the circum-Caribbean region. Recently, there has been considerable interest from the archaeological community in the use of strontium and other isotopes to trace the provenience of artifacts, animals and people (Laffoon and Hoogland, 2012; Laffoon et al, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017; Ostapkowicz et al, 2012, 2013, 2017; Pestle et al, 2013). Bataille et al (2012) have developed a sophisticated Sr isoscape taking into account the contributions of island bedrock geology, differential weathering of rock types, rainfall, and atmospheric dust deposition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Absence of Saharan dust influence on the strontium isotope ratios on modern trees from the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands

Richards

Pouncett

Manco³

et al. 2018

Quat. res.

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We report on strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope results from 91 modern trees growing on the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. The average87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.709169±0.000010 is consistent with the late Quaternary limestone of the islands and with the modern ocean value. The absence of any detectable influence of87Sr-enriched Saharan dust is notable, given the known contribution of this material to both past and recent soils of the Caribbean. Our results indicate that the impact of Saharan dust to the modern biosphere of the Bahamian archipelago is at least an order of magnitude less than modeled in currently available strontium isoscapes for the circum-Caribbean. We suggest that the bioavailability of Sr in Saharan dust may be considerably less than previously thought. Nevertheless, further work could usefully be carried out in the Bahamian archipelago on plants with different rooting depths, growing on different soil types and on limestone of different ages. Our results have particular relevance for the refinement of existing strontium isoscapes and the archaeological provenience of artifacts, animals, and people in the circum-Caribbean.

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“…Recently physico-chemical analyses have been carried out on rather unique archaeological objects extracted from museum collections, including three-pointers, duhos, wooden sculptures and statuary elements from the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas (Ostapkowicz et al, 2011(Ostapkowicz et al, , 2012(Ostapkowicz et al, , 2013. They confirm that plant extracted resins of the Pinaceae family, especially the Caribbean pine Pinus caribaea, and of the Protium (copal) and Bursera (gum tree) genera were commonly used on this variety of objects.…”

Section: Residues On Three-pointersmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Similar objects found in pre-Columbian contexts are believed to have been inlays (Alegría, 1981) in objects such as wooden statues, duhos, masks and other items, implying the use of some sort of adhesive coating. Nevertheless, most of these coating materials have been demonstrated to be plant extracted resins (Ostapkowicz et al, 2011(Ostapkowicz et al, , 2012(Ostapkowicz et al, , 2013, bitumen not being often described or retrieved. A line of inquiry and research should thus be to investigate the conditions for selection of either bitumen or botanical adhesives.…”

Section: Use Of Bitumen and Other Coating Materials At The Tourlourousmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bitumen residue on a Late Ceramic Age three-pointer from Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe: Chemical characterization and ligature evidence

Serrand

Orsini

Ribechini

et al. 2018

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

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Birdmen, cemís and duhos: material studies and AMS 14C dating of Pre-Hispanic Caribbean wood sculptures in the British Museum

Cited by 23 publications

References 20 publications

The zooarchaeology and isotopic ecology of the Bahamian hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami): Evidence for pre-Columbian anthropogenic management

The zooarchaeology and isotopic ecology of the Bahamian hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami): Evidence for pre-Columbian anthropogenic management

Absence of Saharan dust influence on the strontium isotope ratios on modern trees from the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands

Bitumen residue on a Late Ceramic Age three-pointer from Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe: Chemical characterization and ligature evidence

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