The Beasts At Large – Perennial Questions and New Paradigms for Caribbean Translocation Research. Part II: Mammalian Introductions in Cultural Context

ABSTRACT

Looking to clarify outstanding questions about human-animal dynamics in the pre-Columbian Caribbean, archaeologists have recently renewed investigation into the sociocultural context of mammal translocations to the islands. In this second instalment of a three-article series, I examine Amerindian ethnophoresy, that is, the process of anthropogenic species dispersal and its associated cultural practices, drawing on archaeological, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric evidence. Building on the ethnozoogeographic baselines established in Part I, I consider the tangible and intangible roles of introduced mammals, with particular attention given to subsistence, status, symbolic and ritual dimensions. I discuss enduring speculation over the management and incipient domestication of these species and its broader significance. Collectively, these topics are important because they inform explanation of the cause, extent and consequences of non-native animal introductions and allow us to understand translocation as an adaptive response to the natural and cultural environment. I conclude that resolution of the managed/domesticated status of non-native animals, in particular, constitutes the most critical research area in Caribbean ethnophoresy since this bears directly on the environmental impact and ecological legacy of mammal introductions in the region. This last topic is addressed in Part III of the series.

KEYWORDS:

• Animal management
• domestication
• Ethnophoresy
• commensalism
• social zooarchaeology
• West Indies

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper benefitted from comments provided by Michelle LeFebvre. I am also grateful to Michelle and Susan deFrance for graciously sharing the content of forthcoming publications. I thank Mary Jane Berman and Michael Pateman for their help sourcing literature. Lastly, I thank two anonymous reviewers for comments which helped to improve this paper.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Christina M. Giovas is an Assistant Professor of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on prehistoric fisheries, animal translocations, and the human paleoecology of island and coastal settings, particularly the Caribbean and Oceania. She is Associate Editor for the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology and serves on the Board of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology.

ORCID

Christina M. Giovas http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4626-113X

Notes

1 Armadillo, peccary and opossum also appear as decorative adornos on ceramic wares but are not as common as representations of dogs or native wild animals such as turtles, birds, and frogs (Waldron 2011).