Precolumbian Settlements on Carriacou, West Indies

Abstract

The first systematic archaeological investigation of Precolumbian sites on the island of Carriacou in the West Indies provides a rich source of information regarding Amerindian settlement in the southern Caribbean. Herein, we report results from an island-wide survey and subsequent excavation at two large village sites—Grand Bay and Sabazan—that provide evidence for an intensive late Ceramic Age occupation dating between CAL. A.D. 400–1200. Results from four seasons of excavation at Grand Bay and two at Sabazan indicate that inhabitants colonized the island later than larger nearby islands (although an earlier settlement is possible); were engaged in inter-island and South American interactions as evidenced through analysis of pottery, stylistic artifacts, and faunal remains; exploited a variety of marine and terrestrial foods, including several animals rarely found in the Antilles that were translocated to the island from elsewhere; and buried their dead in and around shell middens and, at least once, under a habitable structure.

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