Indigenous adornment in the circum-Caribbean: The production, use, and exchange of bodily ornaments through the lenses of the microscope

Falci, C.G. (2020)

Doctoral Thesis

Adorning one’s body was a widespread practice in the precolonial Caribbean, notably during the Ceramic Age (400 BC–ca. AD 1500). Despite the abundance of ornament collections recovered from the region, much remains unknown concerning their biographies. This dissertation aims to elucidate evolving patterns in ornament production, use, and exchange through technological and microwear analyses. It is composed of four articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The first half proposes a research strategy for studying circum-Caribbean collections, which are markedly diverse in their origins, raw materials, and preservation state. Furthermore, an ethnographic museum collection, including whole necklaces, is studied as basis for interpretation. In the second part, collections from two time periods are studied: 1) the early part of the Early Ceramic Age in the eastern Caribbean; and 2) the Late Ceramic Age in the Greater Antilles. In each case-study, the presence of technical products and use-wear are combined to elucidate exchange patterns. This approach contributes toward a new assessment of large-scale interactions and the social mechanisms responsible for them. The dissertation concludes by reflecting on the changing ways people have handled, engaged with, and ultimately regarded ornaments over the course of the Ceramic Age period.

• Bodily ornaments
• Beads
• Caribbean archaeology
• Chaîne opératoire
• Microwear analysis
• Exchange
• Museum collections
• Shell technology
• Lapidary materials
• Object biography

• All authors: Falci, C.G.
• Supervisor: Hofman, C.L.; Gijn, A.L. van
• Committee: Davies, G.R.; Rigaud, S.; Boomert, A.; Fontijn, D.R.; Vroom, J.A.C.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University
• Date: 2020-03-26
• Sponsorship: The research was funded by the Spinoza Prize from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) awarded to Corinne Hofman in 2014. It has also been funded by the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement n° 319209. The research conducted in Chapter 3 received independent funding from the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac through the Bourse d’étude pour la documentation des collections 2016-2017.