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

Tracing Human Mobility with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr / 223
Figure 15.3. Distribution of strontium ratios of those human
enamel samples that fall within the range of a normal distribution
(n = 36).
Figure 15.4 there are individuals with strontium ratios at the extremes of the distribution
that may also be of nonlocal origin.
How Local Were the “Locals”?
It is most probable that the majority of individuals with a local strontium ratio
had been living on or near the site of Anse à la Gourde in their youth. We cannot
be certain whether this is the case for all individuals categorized as locals. The local
group has a mean 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (0.70914) similar to that of present- day seawater
(Howarth and McArthur 1997). Also, the local soil samples and the enamel from
rice rat dentition have mean ratios similar to the seawater value. This supports the
view that all food and water sources of this coastal settlement had strontium isotope
ratios close to the seawater value. However, similar geochemical and dietary
conditions are likely to have existed in other coastal settlements on the limestone
bedrock of Grand- Terre. Therefore, populations with a comparable subsistence
living on limestone islands may have had equal strontium isotope ratios.
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