The Caribbean is a dynamic region with intense cultural interactions, from the pre-colonial period to the contemporary period. During the pre-colonial period, the social, cultural and political... Show moreThe Caribbean is a dynamic region with intense cultural interactions, from the pre-colonial period to the contemporary period. During the pre-colonial period, the social, cultural and political networks in which the island communities were involved were modified. The archaeology also demonstrates that the material culture of the populations was affected; it has allowed us to identify a diversity of ceramic styles influenced by multiple and plural contributions, witnessing the exchange of ideas and/or objects and/or know-how between the various communities. Colonization will disrupt the dynamics in place, introducing forced contacts of different social and ethnic groups at the origin of the emergence of a patchwork of new communities.My research proposes a multivocal anthropological reading of the material production of multicultural Caribbean societies from the pre-colonial period to the present. This study is approached through the prism of the concept of creolization.The methodology used is a holistic approach that combines technological, morphological, petrographic, stylistic and ethnographic studies.This research takes a new look at the material culture of the Amerindians of the Caribbean which induces cultural and social transformations during the pre-colonial period. Show less
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... Show moreAdorning 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. Show less
The European Corded Ware Culture, and the Single Grave Culture, are mostly known by the funerary architecture and the depositions of goods. The Netherlands is no exception. Archaeological... Show moreThe European Corded Ware Culture, and the Single Grave Culture, are mostly known by the funerary architecture and the depositions of goods. The Netherlands is no exception. Archaeological excavations of domestic settlements are a recent phenomenon, and the number of excavated sites is still low. Although large-scale excavations of Single Grave Culture settlements took place in the Netherlands in the second half of the 20th century, few results have been published. The project aim to study three of these excavated sites: Keinsmerbrug, Mienakker and Zeewijk. This is the first time that three settlements were studied in its totality by a multidisciplinary team. My PhD research combines technological and functional analysis of Single Grave artefacts (lithic material, the bone and amber implements) from the three selected sites. Tools are understood as the material reflection of the technological development of the prehistoric communities, as well as the carriers of social knowledge and practices. Through the application of these methods it was possible to reconstruct economic practices at the sites and reconstruct subsistence strategies; understand the role played by tools and by sites, and improve the knowledge of the Late Neolithic in Noord-Holland and Europe. Show less
