Seascape Corridors

There is little evidence of the routes connecting Amerindian communities in the Caribbean prior to and just after 1492. Uncovering possible canoe routes between these communities can help to explain the structure, capabilities, and limitations of the physical links in their social and material networks. This book evaluates how routes connecting islands indicate the structure of past inter-island networks, by using computer modeling.Computer modeling and least-cost pathway analysis is a popular approach for analyzing the physical connection between sites in archaeology. Over the past three decades researchers have explored several theories and methods to analyze least-cost pathways on landscapes. Land-based least-cost efforts have outpaced the number of works evaluating optimal travel routes across the sea's surface. Perhaps as a result, no community standard for using computer- and GIS-based methods to model canoe or sailing routes exists. Although methods used in previous research often focus on determining the time-cost and success of specific routes, these measures have been calculated or judged in different ways. One way this book adds to the discussion of seascape modeling is by focusing on inter-island voyaging, or the process of maintained connections between island sites rather than a focus on exploration, a technique rarely explored in sea-based least-cost pathways analysis.Relying on archeological evidence, ethnographic accounts and language analysis, and computer tools developed for this work, optimal routes between indigenous sites were modeled to determine how routes in various seasons and through different regions influenced possible lines of connection. To gain a broader understanding of the feasibility this model, canoe routes were generated in three different areas in the Caribbean, stretching from the island of Hispaniola to the Leeward Islands and from the Windward Islands to Guyana. These modeled sea-based routes provide new insights into the movement of peoples and material culture between islands and past Amerindians communities in this region.ContentsAcknowledgmentsChapter 1: Introduction1.1 Objectives and research questions1.2 The model's underpinnings1.3 Outline of chaptersChapter 2: Modeling canoe voyaging in theory2.1 Seascapes as spaces2.2 Movement through sea spaces2.3 Sea-based mental maps2.4 ConclusionChapter 3: Caribbean canoes and canoe modeling3.1 The canoe as a base for modeling3.1.1 Canoes: What we know3.1.2 Paddles and Propulsion3.1.3 To sail or not to sail3.2 Modeling land and sea routes3.2.1 The origins of optimal modeling methods3.2.2 Previous attempts to model sea routes3.2.3 Incorporating archaeological evidence3.3 ConclusionChapter 4: Modeling reciprocal voyages4.1 The Influence of current and wind4.2 Adding a human element4.3 Evaluating currents4.4 Isochrone modelingChapter 5: Routes between neighbouring islands: Connecting partners in the Long Island lithic exchange network5.1 Some islands and sites5.1.1 Antigua and Long Island5.1.2 Anguilla5.1.3 St. Martin5.1.4 Saba5.1.5 St. Eustatius5.1.6 St. Kitts5.1.7 Nevis5.1.8 Barbuda5.1.9 Montserrat5.2 Modeling interpretations5.2.1 Route costs5.2.2 Route trajectories5.3 ConclusionChapter 6: Modeling canoeing across the Mona Passage and the Anegada Passage: Connecting the Greater and the Lesser Antilles6.1 Connecting the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles6.1.1 Taíno across the Antillean divide6.1.2 Ceramic styles6.1.3 Three pointers and shell masks6.2 Islands and points6.2.1 Southeastern Hispaniola6.2.2 Mona Island6.2.3 Puerto Rico6.2.4 St. Thomas and St. John6.2.5 St. Croix6.2.6 Anguilla6.2.7 Saba6.3 Modeling routes between the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles6.3.1 Underlying environmental factors6.3.2 Failed routes and navigation challenges6.3.3 Route cost6.3.4 Route trajectory6.4 ConclusionChapter 7: Voyaging over longer distances: Connecting the South American mainland with the Windward Islands7.1 Kaliña and Kalinago7.1.1 Ceramic styles7.1.2 Language7.1.3 Ethnohistoric accounts7.1.4 Mainland and island locations7.2 Route modeling7.2.1 Failed routes and navigation challenges7.2.2 Current tool7.2.3 Route cost7.2.4 Route layout7.3 ConclusionChapter 8: Discussion8.1 A brief review8.2 Observations on research questions8.2.1 Seasonality8.2.2 Canoe pathways and site placement8.2.3 Modeled seafaring practices, navigation, and mental maps8.3 Limitations8.4 Future workBibliographySummaryCurriculum vitae