Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

144 / Appendix A.
(A8) and Rio Nuevo (Y4), hence the information from Upton can be compared
to some extent with those sites. Her total vertebrate MNI came to 75 individuals.
Land mammals are mainly represented by Geocapromys brownii (hutía)
with an MNI of 54 in Fandrich’s count. She also recorded one peccary (Tayassu
tacaju). She identified one bird (Columba leucocephala), the white- crowned pigeon,
and both she and Scudder noted the presence of other unidentified bird
bones. In addition, Scudder mentions two specimens of rice rat (Oryzomys sp.)
and one mouse or rat (Muridae). She also records one land reptile, an Anguid
lizard (Diploglossus sp.). One sea turtle (Cheloniidae) was mentioned by Scudder.
Fandrich found six turtle fragments, which could not be assigned a genus
or species name, hence they were given an MNI of 1. The remaining species
represented are all fish, with an MNI of 18 according to Fandrich. Scudder
mentions 15 species or genera, not all present in Fandrich’s collection, but she
added four more. These included one cartilaginous fish (Carcharinidae) or shark
not mentioned by Scudder. Fandrich comments that while no single fish species
dominated her sample, groupers (Epinephelus) and parrot fish (Sparisoma)
were equally distributed. This suggests a predominant concentration on banks
and reefs. Other fish present that are indicative of this environment include
Lutjanus (snapper), Balistidae (triggerfish), Labridae (wrasse), Acanthurus (surgeonfish),
and Haemulon (grunt). All these are present on the other north coast
sites. Scombridae (tuna) are indicative of an offshore pelagic environment, although
the little tunny (Euthynnus) is the one type of tuna that comes in quite
close to the shore and would require less effort to catch than the open sea varieties.
Inshore fish that occur at other north coast sites are here too, such as
Caranx (jack), Centropomus (snook), Diodontidae (porcupine fish), and Belonidae
(needlefish). Fish not represented at any other of the north coast sites so
far include cowfish (Lactophrys) and moray eel (Gymnothorax). In general, the
contrast with Bengal (A8) and Rio Nuevo (Y4) (where bank and reef fish alone
account for more than half the MNI) is clear enough. As Scudder and Fandrich
say, the inhabitants of this site pursued “a largely land- based subsistence
strategy,” and insofar as they exploited marine resources they favored fish that
lived in “coastal waters and coral reefs.”
John Wilman estimated that the site as a whole must once have been at least
3 acres in size, at the end of a limestone ridge, bounded on three sides by fairly
steep hillsides. Although the lot adjacent to his former property is still undeveloped,
he emphasizes that it is progressively being destroyed by agricultural
activities.