Earthen ridges in coastal sand dunes of the Caribbean coast, Venezuela: Anthropogenic or natural?

Abstract

Earthen ridges that occur in the active Los Médanos de Coro dune fields of the Venezuelan Caribbean coast have been attributed either to anthropogenic or natural origins. Anthropogenic explanations have focused on their location, geometry, structure, and compaction, in the context of archaeological sites and artifacts throughout the dunes, to suggest an origin as causeways built by the extinct Caquetío people and/or their pre‐Hispanic ancestors. To assess this topic, geomorphic, physicochemical, and elemental analyses were carried out on the ridges and interdunal beaches and playas. The configuration, elevation, and composition of the ridges, along with three bulk sediment 14C dates that range 1900–3000 year BP, are here found to be most compatible with a natural origin as exhumed paleochannels. Past human occupants may, however, have used the features as causeways.