Crossing the Borders: New Methods and Techniques in the Study of Archaeological Materials from the Caribbean

New Evidence of Two Different Migratory Waves / 199
1998; Coppa et al. 2000; Coppa et al. 2004; Cucina et al. 2003; Irish 1993, 1997, 1998b,
2000; Scott and Turner 1997).
Materials
The populations’ samples analyzed in this study come from six geographical areas
(Table 14.1). Because of the difference in sample size, dental collections that were
sufficiently large were analyzed as single units. In turn, small samples that were
geographically, chronologically, and culturally similar were pooled together to
form larger groups. A total of 15,497 teeth and 1,932 individuals were retrieved
from 16 dental collections.
As far as chronology is concerned (Table 14.1), the Florida samples are from four
independent and chronologically different sites. Tick Island and Republic Groove
are the most ancient ones, referred to a period spanning between 4500 b.c. and
3000 b.c., Fort Center is dated between a.d. 200 and 600, and Highland Beach
around the a.d. 1200. Among the sites from the Dominican Republic, Cueva Roja
is the most ancient, and it is dated between 2500 b.c. and 2000 b.c.. The samples
of El Soco and Andres were pooled into the larger Ostionoid group and encompass
a time range between a.d. 800 and 900. Juan Dolio and La Caleta belong to
the Chicoid period, which dates between a.d. 1000 and 1500. The Cuban necropolises
that were thought to pertain to the Ciboney culture date between a.d. 500
and 1500 and are geographically located in the westernmost part of the island. Two
of them, Cueva del Perico and Cueva el Infierno, are sufficiently large to be analyzed
independently. Even though we acknowledge Keegan’s critics on the misuse
of the term “Ciboney,” this large group from Cuba will be labeled here as Ciboney
from Cuba for no other reason than simple matter of simplicity. On the contrary,
only one Taíno sample was retrieved from Cuba, El Chorro de Maíta, dated between
a.d. 1000 and 1500, and located on the easternmost part of the island. All
the collections from Puerto Rico pertain to the Saladoid period (150 b.c.–a.d. 0).
The sample from the U.S. Virgin Islands pertains to the Saladoid and Chican periods.
From the Lesser Antilles, so far we collected data only from the Troumassoid
sample of Anse à la Gourde in Guadeloupe, which spans a period between a.d.
1000 and 1400. The samples from Venezuela are chronologically dated between
a.d. 200 and 800.
Methods
In the present study, the permanent dentitions have been scored for 31 morphological
traits (14 maxillary and 17 mandibular) according to the Arizona State University
Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) with the help of rank- scale ref-
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