Amerindian personal ornaments made of lithic materials in the Antilles during the Ceramic Age: From characterization to chronological and spatial distribution
Résumé
Personal ornaments are an important part of the archaeological record, as they provide valuable insights into various aspects of past human societies. Those made of lithic materials are particularly significant due to their wide distribution and excellent preservation. In the Caribbean islands, during the Ceramic Age, lapidary artifacts exhibit remarkable abundance and diversity. While archaeologists have previously highlighted differences between the Saladoid and Post-Saladoid periods and have proposed a South-American origin, this was based on ceramic style and incomplete data. In this paper, robust analysis of extensive datasets enables to address the questions of spatial and temporal distribution, diversity and similarity of lithic beads and pendants during the Caribbean Age in the Antilles. The study reveals that the Early and Middle Ceramic periods exhibit higher raw material and typological diversity. Furthermore, similarities are greater between sites attributed to the same period than between geographically close sites, both in terms of mineralogy and typology. Finally, I establish that the lapidary production during the Early Ceramic Age differs significantly between South American sites and Saladoid sites in the archipelago. Some indications pointing to the Isthmo-Colombian area are proposed, which will require further research in the region to enable such robust comparisons.