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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rocky shores, offshore shallow reefs and sea-grass
beds; although it is possible there were other environments
available that are not represented in the
shell assemblage. The fact that Neritinas were
intensively collected raises the question of energy
and foraging time devoted to the gathering of
these brought back to camp alive (as suggested
by the numerous small opercula). Neritinas are a
common occurrence in most periods throughout
Caribbean prehispanic archaeology. It is a widely
accepted idea that these (and all other small gastropods)
were cooked as soups, where the
molluscs were added in bulk to boiling water. No
direct experimentation or testing has been carried
out to evaluate this speculation but it is as strong
among Caribbeanists as Irving Rouse’s culturaltypological
scheme. Nevertheless, small gastropods
can also represent evidence of other activities,
aside from the possibility of soup making.
According to the Prey Choice Model of
Optimal Foraging Theory, people would select
food or prey types that maximize their short-term
harvest rate, minimizing the time spent foraging
while increasing the revenue of such investment
(Raab 1992, Perlman 1980, Thomas 2007). In
food-terms, Neritina does not present a reasonable
food objective. Given its relatively small size
and the amount of work needed to extract the
mollusc, this species is not likely to have been
gathered for consumption, especially considering
the large number of more productive species closer
to the site in habitats known to have been
exploited; and the existence of similar molluscs
(Nerita sp.) closer to the site. The fact that Neritina
were still collected is “economically irrational” (Bird
et al. 2001) and seems at odds with the Prey
Choice Model terms of direct use as human food.
Figure 6. Example of neritid pattern of shell fracture. (Drawing by Isabel C.
Rivera-Collazo).
Many of the Neritina of Punta Candelero show
impact on the dorso/ventral area, detached apertures
and aperture fragments, with very little or no
burning (Figure 6) Similar breakage patterns
have been observed at other archaeological sites
of different periods in the Caribbean (Serrand
2001, Serrand and Bonnissent 2005). This type of
breakage would effectively break the snail’s
attachment muscle, facilitating its removal from
the shell without cooking. It is possible that the
Neritina were collected to be used as bait either
in fish traps or on hook lines (Claassen 1991: 253,
for ethnographical evidence of this practice see
Claassen 1998: Chapter 7). Seen isolated from
other sustenance activities that require inland
venturing, collecting neritids for fishing could
seem to increase significantly the cost of fishing
according to the Prey Choice Model, an aspect
that needs further research.
Personal communication with local fishermen
also suggests the possibility of gathering
the neritids as snacks during trips, where they
could be consumed while walking. Similar behaviour
was observed in India by Arati
Deshpande-Mukherjee, where people would
remove the snail from the shell using sharp
sticks and consume it raw (Deshpande-
Mukherkee, pers comm. 2008). Nevertheless,
neritid collection for snacking does not explain
the presence of so many opercula on site.
The possibility of using molluscs as bait invites
an examination of other evidence for line-fishing
during the Late Saladoid. In Punta Candelero there
is faunal evidence for the exploitation of pelagic
and deep sea carnivorous fish (Ramos-Vélez et al.
2007); however, no fish hooks were recovered.
This scenario is common throughout the
Caribbean. It is possible fish hooks were made of
perishable materials, such as wood or thorns.
Buse (1981: 20) documented the use of fishing
hooks in Peruvian coastal groups made from
thorns that were shaped while still green and flexible.
This kind of material would not readily survive
in terrestrial archaeological contexts. The study of
proxy evidence that suggests line fishing allows
further understanding of the application of this
technology in the Caribbean.
Regarding the rest of the Gastropod assemblage,
many of the species identified are too small
to be consumed (eg. Cymatium sp., Polinices sp.,
Diodora sp., Tegula sp.), but appear consistently
throughout the site, although in low percentages
(