This dissertation investigates the functioning of human-animal interactions at precolumbian Indigenous sites located in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. The five case studies that comprise this... Show moreThis dissertation investigates the functioning of human-animal interactions at precolumbian Indigenous sites located in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. The five case studies that comprise this work investigate the mortality ages and morphologies of animals, and the dietary linkages between humans and several animal species commonly found in archaeological sites throughout the Greater Antilles such as domesticated dogs and possibly managed endemic rodents known as hutias. Isotopic analysis of animal remains was conducted to determine the consumption of maize as a proxy for investigating closeness in human-animal interactions. In the frame of niche construction theory, the evidence presented in this dissertation relates to the environmental practices of Indigenous peoples. Slash-and-burn farming was a widely practiced environmental management strategy throughout the region which likely created mosaiced plant communities consisting of garden plots and old-growth forest. These mixed anthropogenic and natural environments have been shown to be beneficial to some dietary generalists, and the abundance of hutias in archaeological sites might be the result of ‘garden hunting’ of species that benefited from horticultural practices. This may have constituted a form of animal management that is tied to plant food production, and therefore represents an arguably sustainable form of low-level food production. Show less
In the Greater Antilles, certain animal taxa that have long been theorized to have been managed by indigenous peoples prior to AD1492, the main candidates being a group of endemic caviomorph... Show moreIn the Greater Antilles, certain animal taxa that have long been theorized to have been managed by indigenous peoples prior to AD1492, the main candidates being a group of endemic caviomorph rodents known as hutias (Capromyinae). This isotopic study investigates the paleodiets of several species of endemic rodents from three late precolonial sites in the northern Dominican Republic: El Flaco (cal. ad 990-1452), El Carril (cal. ad 1030-1262), and La Entrada (cal. ad 840-900) to assess whether human influence over animal diets can be determined. We examined bone collagen carbon (delta C-13(co)) and nitrogen (delta N-15) and tooth enamel carbon (delta C-13(en)) isotope values of three species of hutias, Isolobodon portoricensis, Isolobodon montanus, and Plagiodontia aedium, alongside edible rat (Brotomys sp.), and domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). To estimate dietary source contributions, we employed a Bayesian dietary mixing model (FRUITS v.3.0) and ran three different permutations to assess the relative contributions of C-3 or C-4/CAM plants. The addition of an extra 79 wild C-3 and 40 wild C-4/CAM plant species' isotope values from published sources to an established isotopic foodweb for the Caribbean region enabled us to discriminate between wild and domestic C-3 and C-4/CAM plant food sources in two of these models. Our results provide evidence of the significant consumption of domestic C-4/CAM plants by some animals. This likely represents maize (Zea mays) consumption, which is known to have been ubiquitously cultivated by indigenous peoples in the region. This is particularly the case for I. portoricensis, as FRUITS modeling suggests that a few individuals consumed C-4/CAM plants well beyond their expected natural diets as determined from feeding studies of extant hutia species. This may indicate human influence over endemic rodent diets due to niche construction activities such as horticultural practices and may reflect either opportunistic feeding on human produce or the purposeful supplementation of hutia diets by humans. Show less
