The Role of Small Islands in Marine Subsistence Strategies: Case Studies from the Caribbean

Abstract

Caribbean archaeologists have tended to focus exclusively on the prehistory of the largest islands, perhaps because large islands are believed to provide the landmass necessary to support long-term population growth and cultural development. Yet, as research here and elsewhere, e.g., the Pacific, is showing, small islands provided access to resources and landscapes that were not always readily available on the larger islands. Small islands often have superior terrestrial and, especially, marine resources; isolated ritual spaces; and more easily defended locations; although they are susceptible to more rapid overexploitation. This paper examines in detail human needs with regard to island size, demonstrating that small islands were crucial in the development of pre-Columbian Caribbean societies. Four case studies are presented to illustrate that small islands often were preferred over large islands throughout the Caribbean archipelagoes. Finally, these studies show that the prehistoric exploitation and overexploitation of small islands can provide significant insights for establishing baselines that can be used for modern management and conservation efforts.

Coastal Subsistence, Maritime Trade, and the Colonization of Small Offshore Islands in Eastern African Prehistory

“…The near absence of systematic zooarchaeological research on pre-Swahili assemblages, in particular from smaller offshore islands where ready access to rich littoral ecosystems may have encouraged or facilitated a more marine-focused lifestyle (see Keegan et al 2008) has constrained models for the development of maritime adaptations in this region. While the analysis of the Juani assemblage offers only the first step in addressing this lacuna, the results nonetheless imply that maritime-focused societies were potentially established as early as the EIA on eastern Africa's small islands, but also that an initial focus on marine resources subsequently shifted in favor of a more mixed agriculturalhunting-foraging-fishing lifestyle in the MIA.…”

“…Yet multi-disciplinary research in other regions of the world, such as the Pacific and Caribbean, has demonstrated that smaller offshore islands are often colonized earlier than those with larger landmasses owing to their greater ecological diversity, particularly resource-rich marine habitats (see Keegan et al 2008 for discussion). We also know that colonization of small islands can have dramatic impacts on endemic flora and fauna (Masse et al 2006;Rick and Erlandson 2008;Weisler 2003).…”

Using Airborne LiDAR Survey to explore Historic-era archaeological landscapes of Montserrat in the Eastern Caribbean

“…Influenced by scholars working on other islands in the Greater and Lesser Antilles (Callaghan 2007;Cooper and Sheets 2012;Curet 2005;Deagan 2004;Fitzpatrick and Keegan 2007;Hofman et al 2007;Keegan et al 2008), and with assistance from small field crews, SLAM has been examining the nature of the discursive relationships between communities and their environments on Montserrat throughout its human occupation. The project has now identified over 50 sites and over 300 landscape features, most of them unknown or long forgotten, and none previously well recorded (Ryzewski and Cherry 2013;.…”

Life among the tides : recent archaeology on the Georgia Bight : proceedings of the Sixth Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 20-22, 2011.

“…Napolitano's research documented a 4000 year history of human articulate that compares favorably with the extensive surveys conducted by the American Museum of Natural History on nearby St. Catherines Island (Thomas, 2008). The Bull Island survey demonstrates the intensive and extensive use of the broader landscape of the Georgia Bight, demandpreFaCe ing that archaeologists consider the relative importance that small islands and landforms play in coastal economies (see also Keegan et al, 2008, for a similar example from another region).…”