Pre-Columbian Amerindian Lifeways at the Sabazan Site, Carriacou, West Indies

ABSTRACT

Recent excavations at the Ceramic Age village site of Sabazan on Carriacou, Grenada, indicate long-term occupation spanning AD 400 to 1400. One of the earliest settlements in the Grenadines Archipelago, Sabazan's chronology corroborates late Saladoid colonization of the region with the timing of major developments at this location supported by a robust chronology of 26 radiocarbon assays. Investigation of deep, stratified midden deposits yielded abundant ceramic, shell, and stone artifacts, faunal remains, and burial and domestic features. Zooarchaeological evidence indicates a heavy reliance on marine resources and a well-developed tuna (Scombridae, Thunnini) fishery. While data point to sustainable resource exploitation over a millennium, shifts in foraging strategies are evident, including declines in the fish catch and increasing reliance on large or easily acquired mollusks, particularly queen conch (Lobatus gigas) and nerites (Nerita spp.). These trends may be driven by the greater aridity and warmer sea surface temperatures of the Medieval Warm Period (ca AD 900–1300). Exotic artifacts and the remains of introduced mammals at Sabazan provide evidence for inter-island and continental interactions. Here, I synthesize these findings and their significance for reconstructing West Indian colonization, tracing exchange and interaction networks, and understanding human ecodynamics and long-term adaptation to small island ecosystems.

Keywords:

• Caribbean
• Ceramic Age
• exchange networks
• Grenadines
• human ecodynamics
• zooarchaeology

Notes

¹Rainfall estimates vary. A Government of Grenada (2000) report cites meteoric water at 775–1400 mm/yr across the nation.

²Fitzpatrick et al.'s (2004:fig. 3) published profile drawing shows the four ¹⁴C samples (GX-30423, GX30424, GX-30425, and OS-41358) originating from strata V, VI, and VII. These layers represent the post-mapping consolidation of finer stratigraphic distinctions. Here, I follow previous publications (Fitzpatrick and Giovas 2011; Fitzpatrick et al. 2009a; Giovas 2013) in using the original in-field stratigraphic designations of VI, X, and XI. For both formats, layer numbers are in order of reported depth sequence.

³The early Saladoid (ca. 500 BC–AD 1) is typically associated with colonization of the West Indies by ceramic bearing farmer-foragers, giving rise to the term Ceramic Age to describe the period between initial Saladoid arrival and European contact (Petersen et al. 2004; Rouse 1992).

⁴Large spire, columella, and lip fragments of conch were counted in the field and shell portion and species noted. These were left in the field due to transport and curation difficulties posed by shell bulk and weight. Smaller strombid conch specimens were screened and collected from excavated sediments along with other faunal remains. Combining specimens collected by both methods results in a total conch NISP of 369 and an MNI of 88. Several strombid species are represented, although most belong to queen conch (Lobatus [formerly Strombus] gigas). Strombid conch quantification is detailed in Supplement 3.

⁵Recent molecular and morphological analyses (e.g., Westneat and Alfaro 2005; Westneat et al. 2005) reassign the parrotfish family (Scaridae) to a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses (Labridae). Here, I have maintained this clade as a distinct family for consistency with prior published and unpublished reporting of analytic results (Giovas 2013, 2016). Parrotfish skeletal elements are distinctive and readily distinguished from those of other labrid species.