Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

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ISABEL C. RIVERA-COLLAZO
clypeatus, (García 2005: 371), which periodically
move into abandoned mollusc shells and are very
common on modern Puerto Rican shores.
The ubiquity of these shells throughout the site
might also indicate another anthropic subsistence
activity. Claassen (1991, 1998) documents that
periodical cleaning of fish traps in the Bahamas
brought to shore molluscs and other remains that
were not intentionally collected for economic or
other sustenance activities. It is possible that fish
traps were placed in Thalassia or other sea grass
beds, or close to reefs, where fish could hide and be
caught. The documented species are scavenging
or grazing gastropods that could have crawled into
the traps and be brought ashore with the catch and
subsequently discarded during cleaning, providing
proxy evidence of the use of this technology.
4. CONCLUSION
The shell remains from Punta Candelero support
the conclusions suggested by the geoarchaeological
analysis regarding the deltaic origin
of the foreland. The present analysis suggests the
occupants of the site used all the locally available
environments, including rocky shores, sandy
intertidal, consolidated and unconsolidated subtidal,
and riparian habitats. The apparent absence
of mangal habitat needs further examination.
The assemblage also documents particular
foraging practices. Rocky shores were exploited
by collecting individual specimens, selecting
them according to size. Sandy beaches were
used for collecting Donax en masse probably
using baskets or sieves. Subtidal environments
(rocky and seagrass habitats) were exploited by
the gathering of individual specimens. It is also
possible that some of the molluscs were collected
opportunistically during fishing trips.
The data seems to suggest not all the shells in
the assemblage were collected for sustenance.
Some of the gastropods might represent fish trap
cleaning practices. The neritids could have been
consumed, but could also have been used as bait
in traps or on hooks. Other shells could have been
brought to shore accidentally, such as the
Brachidontes exustus associated with large coral
fragments that were being used for surface stabilization
before erecting structures (Rivera-Collazo
and Cross-Marsh 2007).
The analysis of the faunal remains collected
during the 2006 excavations suggests the inhabitants
of Punta Candelero were maritime-oriented
but had ample use of the terrestrial hinterland
(Velez-Ramos et al. 2007). This shell analysis supports
that observation, through the documentation
of use of marine, estuarine and freshwater environments.
This study sheds light on the complexity of
maritime culture and the need to study in more
detail the relationship between people and their
contemporary landscapes. Further research is
needed to challenge traditionally accepted ideas
with high resolution data. In humid tropical
regions, perishable organic materials are readily
available, easy to use and resistant enough to survive
everyday and long-term use. Nevertheless,
this raw material is usually absent from the
archaeological record, as the hot and wet tropical
soils do not favour its long-term preservation.
Thus, archaeological assemblages are dominated
by shell, stone and ceramic tools that might
reflect more the taphonomic than the anthropogenic
processes. However, it is possible to use proxy
evidence to support the use of particular technology
that otherwise would be absent from the
record. This approach will foster the deeper
understanding of early human occupation on the
Caribbean and their use of island landscapes.
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián