Ancient Borinquen: Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Native Puerto RicoPeter E. Siegel A comprehensive overview of recent thinking, new data, syntheses, and insights into current Puerto Rican archaeology Ancient Borinquen is a re-examination of the archaeology of Puerto Rico, drawing data from beyond the boundaries of the island itself because in prehistoric times the waters between islands would not have been viewed as a boundary in the contemporary sense of the term. The last few decades have witnessed a growth of intense archaeological research on the island, from material culture in the form of lithics, ceramics, and rock art; to nutritional, architecture, and environmental studies; to rituals and social patterns; to the aftermath of Conquest. It is unlikely that prehistoric occupants recognized the same boundaries and responded to the same political forces that operated in the formation of current nations, states, or cities. Yet, archaeologists traditionally have produced such volumes and they generally represent anchors for ongoing research in a specific region, in this case the island of Puerto Rico, its immediate neighbors, and the wider Caribbean basin. Ancient Borinquen provides a comprehensive overview of recent thinking, new data, syntheses, and insights into current Puerto Rican archaeology, and it reflects and illuminates similar concerns elsewhere in the West Indies, lowland South America, and Central America. |
Contents
The Lithics Speak Out | 1 |
A Progress Report | 55 |
A View from Puerto Rico | 88 |
4 The Status of Paleoethnobiological Research on Puerto Ricoand Adjacent Islands | 122 |
Stable Isotopes and Island Biogeography | 185 |
Communities and Social Landscapes of the CeramicAge Peoples of South Central Puerto Rico | 202 |
A PoliticalReligious Manifesto | 230 |
Rock Art in Ancient Puerto Rico | 285 |
The Indians of Puerto Rico during the Early Sixteenth Century | 337 |
10 Multiple Visions of an Islands Past and Some Thoughts for Future Directions in Puerto Rican Prehistory | 353 |
| 365 | |
Contributors | 415 |
| 419 | |
Other editions - View all
Ancient Borinquen: Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Native Puerto Rico Peter E. Siegel No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
Agüeybaná Alegría Amerindian analysis ancestors Anderson-Córdova Antillean apatite archaeological Archaic areíto artifacts assemblages associated burials cacique Caguana Caribbean cave Cedrosan Saladoid celts cemís ceramic ceramic-age ceremonial charcoal cohoba collagen Colón COLRM complex component contexts core Cueva cultural Curet deposits diet documented Elenan Ostionoid eolian ethnohistoric evidence excavation Figure freehand flakes Greater Antilles groups Hacienda Hispaniola human iconography identified Indian indicate interaction island isotope landscape Lesser Antilles limestone lithic Lithostratigraphic located Maisabel material Newsom occupations Oliver Ostionoid Pané Paso del Indio patterns period petroglyphs pictographs Pilaster plants Ponce pond post-Saladoid pottery prehistoric present protein Puerto Rico region Rican Rico and Vieques Río river rock art Rodríguez Ramos Rouse Saladoid samples San Juan Sapotaceae sediments shaman Siegel social sociopolitical soil South Spanish spatial stone Storde Sued Badillo Table Taíno taxa terrestrial Tibes tion Vieques village Walker X X X X X X