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

206 / Coppa et al.
Figure 14.2. Maximum Likelihood tree.
Maximum Likelihood Method (ML)
The ML data elaboration highlights the presence of two main groups (Figure 14.2).
In the upper part of the tree, we can observe all the Taíno. This cluster is tied to
two branches sporting the Saladoid and Troumassoid samples, though both nodes
are represented less than 50 percent of the time in the bootstrap. In the lower part
of the tree, the Ciboney from Cuba and Cueva Roja cluster together with a node
that appears in 76 percent of the iterations.
The Florida samples are distributed in between the two main groups without
forming a clearly defined group by themselves. A significant bootstrap node (65
percent) connects Fort Center and Republic Grooves from Florida. Interestingly,
the Venezuela group is in between the Florida ones.
Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
Figure 14.3 shows the PCA scatter plot, with the first two components explaining
the 40.33 percent of all the variance (Table 14.3). The scatter plot clearly shows
two distinct clusters. The first one, on the left part of the plot, gathers together
the Taíno groups along with the Saladoid and Troumassoid samples. The second
cluster, on the right side, links up all the Ciboney groups, both the recent ones
You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press.
Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and
injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press.