Shellfish Collection Practices of the First Inhabitants of Southwestern Puerto Rico

The Effects of Site Type and Paleoenvironment on Habitat Choice

Bibliographic Data

ID4920154
AuthorsW J Pestle (0000-0002-6257-7900), Carmen Laguer-Díaz, Carmen A Laguer-Díaz (0000-0002-1332-6945, Valencia College), Mary Jo Schneider (0000-0002-7536-1383), M Jesse Schneider, Megan Carden, Clark E Sherman (0000-0003-0758-7900), Daniel Karell (0000-0001-6709-6535), Daniel Koski-Karell
Year2021
Volume32
Issue4
Pages850-857
Publication date2021-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2021.29
OpenAlexW3162134233
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited7

After decades of study, much remains unknown about the foraging practices of the earliest inhabitants of Puerto Rico. Here, we present an analysis of the malacological assemblages of two neighboring and (partially) contemporary early sites from the island's southwest, finding intriguing intersite differences in shellfish collection practices. We attribute this diversity to differences in site type, chronology, or changes in local coastal configuration. This work not only provides insights into prehistoric Puerto Rican foraging dynamics but also demonstrates the importance of considering factors including intra-age chronology, site type, and changes in paleoenvironmental conditions when considering ancient foraging practices

Archaeology · Biology · Chronology · Diversity (politics · Foraging · Geography · Habitat · Prehistory · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Ecology

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