On the Question of the Absence of Archaic Age Sites on Jamaica

ABSTRACT

Archaic Age sites are found on the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and as far east as Antigua. Some of these sites date to as early as the fourth millennium BC. However, to date, no sites of this period have been found on Jamaica despite attempts to locate them. The earliest known human occupations date to shortly after AD 600 with sites containing Ostionoid ceramics. The reasons why Archaic peoples did not occupy Jamaica or why their sites have eluded archaeologists are explored. Specifically, environmental factors such as navigational difficulties, hurricane activity, and sea-level changes are considered. The results suggest that rough sea conditions around Jamaica discouraged settlement until social changes during the Ostionoid period favored the construction of large canoes.

Keywords:

• Archaic
• Ostionoid
• computer simulations
• seafaring
• Jamaica
• Caribbean

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper was originally presented at the Society for American Archaeology meetings in Austin, Texas, April 25–29, 2007. I would like to thank Scott Fitzpatrick for organizing and chairing the session: Island Worlds Apart; Interactions and Remoteness on Seas and Oceans. I would also like to thank Scott Fitzpatrick and Christine Armstrong for editing a draft of the paper and Corinne Hofman and an anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions. Finally I would like to thank Scott Fitzpatrick and Atholl Anderson for inviting me to contribute to this special issue of the journal.