Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology

6 / Approaches to Early Ceramics
in the Caribbean
Between Diversity and Unilineality
Jorge Ulloa Hung
Several centuries before agricultural ceramic groups from South America arrived
in the Greater Antilles, some foraging groups in the islands seemed to
have developed ceramic technology independently. This chapter presents and
analyzes the different opinions, criteria, and hypotheses regarding the development
of these earliest pottery-making communities in Cuba from the perspective
of a general Caribbean framework. My intention is to introduce the
reader to the theoretical and archaeological treatment that this phenomenon
has received in the Caribbean, especially in Cuba (Figure 6.1) and Dominican
Republic, moving from general ideas to speci¤c examples.
Interest in this topic in Cuban archaeology is heightened by the fact that
this phenomenon has only recently been acknowledged in Caribbean archaeology
or the Greater Antilles. Yet, as will be seen from my survey of the ¤eld,
it has received little attention or has been approached using isolated or unilineal
criteria. My goal is to discuss the necessity of new and broader perspectives
on the topic. We are in need of new studies that focus on intra- and
interisland comparisons that allow us to create a more precise picture of the
development of agriculture and ceramics. Such an approach will not only
clarify the possible origin of these groups and provide useful descriptions of
their assemblages but should help us understand socioeconomic dynamics at
the regional level.
Against the backdrop of this critical reassessment, results from new research
being conducted in eastern Cuba comprise the remainder of this article.
The investigations took place between 1996 and 2000 and were organized in