Island Colonization and Human-Environment Interactions on the Edges of the Tropics: Archaeology of the Taíno Frontier (Northern Bahamas)

ABSTRACT Variability across frontiers and boundaries challenges the resilience of expanding populations. Here, we contribute to a broader understanding of global patterns of island colonization and expose the diversity of lifeways experienced across the Taíno culture area by exploring Lucayan settlement of the small subtropical islands of the northern Bahama archipelago. The results of this first comprehensive investigation document the rapid expansion and early arrival of humans in the northern zone (ca. a.d. 900); deviations from traditional settlement patterns and dietary practices, which reflect responses to the unique local environment, including the association of humans with extirpated/extinct animals; sources for pottery imported from the Greater Antillean Taínos; and, a previously unrecognized local pottery variety attributable to the quality of local clay sources. The frontier provides a new perspective on the Taíno core area and raises additional questions concerning life along a historically progressing frontier. Video Abstract:: https://vimeo.com/363737943