Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

Of Shell and Sand: Coastal Habitat Availability and Human Foraging Strategies at Punta Candelero (Humacao, Puerto Rico)
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using heavy machinery after Miguel Rodríguez’s
archaeological intervention in the late 1980s and
early 1990s, and was then covered with a thick layer
of rubble fill (up to a metre thick in some areas).
Recent development has widely impacted the
region, and the original topography has been severely
modified. The shoreline is classified as of moderate
to high erosion risk, based on wave intensity.
The littoral presents a wide and rich mosaic of
habitats very close to the shore. Modern benthic
habitats, as classified by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s Biogeography Team
(NOAA 2001), include various types of consolidated
substrates such as bedrock, corals and other
reefs, as well as sandy shores, sea grass habitats
and patches of macroalgae (Figure 4).
Figure 3. Punta Candelero showing the location of the suggested 'shell middens'.
White dots mark the sampled units for this study (Satellite image modified
from Google Earth 2004 image, 18°05’33.50”N 65°47’26.76”W).
2007 due to proposed development on the land
plot. This project intervened only on the north section
of the site, which had been identified by
Miguel Rodríguez as “Cuevas zone” of the Late
Saladoid Period, estimating its date to 400 – 800
AD (Rodríguez-López 1991).
Radiocarbon dates from charred wood samples
from features excavated during the 2006 project
range between 660 – 1020 Cal AD (Beta
Analytic Laboratory, 2σ calibration) (see Ramos-
Vélez et al. 2007 for details on the dates and their
calibration). All samples were within Cuevas
Period context. During his excavations in the late
1980s, M. Rodríguez obtained a similar date
range, but he found the dates confusing
(Rodríguez-López 1991) because they are too late
compared with the accepted Saladoid chronology
established by Irving Rouse (Rouse 1992). The
radiocarbon dates obtained by M. Ramos confirm
the late character of the Saladoid occupation on
Punta Candelero (Ramos et al. 2007). Similar
dates have been obtained from other characteristically
Saladoid sites, which challenge Rouse’s
chronology based on ceramic typology (see
Ramos-Vélez et al. 2007 for discussion).
1.2. Modern Context
The modern ecological conditions of the foreland
are degraded. Most of its surface was levelled
1.3. Palaeolandscape
According to the geoarchaeological study
(Rivera-Collazo 2007b), Punta Candelero’s environmental
and landscape setting contemporaneous
with the occupation at the site was complex
and rich. The foreland was formed as part of the
depositional processes of Candelero River mouth,
forming a deltaic environment with a possible
sandbar separating the river from the sea and
making it flow south. Although more data is necessary,
the available information suggests that the
sea level at the time of occupation could have
been about 20 – 30cm lower than today. Swampy
deposits between the site and the sea seem to be
associated with the ancient river channel, contemporary
with the site’s occupation. The immediate
landscape included riparian, estuarine and marine
environments within just a few minutes walk.
Terrestrial resources were not far away either, possibly
consisting of dense tropical forests.
Deltas are excellent examples of ecotonal conditions,
presenting the conjunction between marine,
terrestrial and riparian environments. Ecotones
yield a very high ratio of different types of resources,
maximizing returns and minimizing risks for
foragers (Dincauze 2000). According to the
Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) (Borgerhoff
Mulder 2004, Cronk 1991, Pyke 1984), site location
inside an ecotonal resource patch would facilitate
the exploitation of local microenvironments with
minimum risk and time investment (Binford 1980,
Perlman 1980, Raab 1992, Thomas 2007). If the
inhabitants of Punta Candelero were behaving in
accordance with the OFT, then the shells of Punta
Candelero should evidence exploitation of environments
in the immediate vicinity of the site.
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián