First records of modified snake bones in the Pre-Columbian archaeological 
record of the Lesser Antilles: cultural and paleoecological implications

Bochaton, Corentin

doi:10.1080/15564894.2020.1749195

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First records of modified snake bones in the Pre-Columbian archaeological record of the Lesser Antilles: cultural and paleoecological implications

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Bochaton, Corentin
Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Bochaton, C. (2020). First records of modified snake bones in the Pre-Columbian archaeological record of the Lesser Antilles: cultural and paleoecological implications. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 1749195. doi:10.1080/15564894.2020.1749195.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0006-7267-6

Abstract

The past distribution of Boa snakes and their interactions with Pre-Columbian human populations in the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean) remain enigmatic. These snakes currently have a patchy distribution in the islands and are nearly absent from archaeological deposits. This raises questions about whether their absence from Pre-Columbian contexts should be interpreted from a biological or a cultural point of view. In this study, I provide three new references to Boa remains from archaeological and natural deposits on the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, most of which were manufactured into beads. These are the first objects in the Lesser Antilles known to be manufactured using snake bones and all appear to be made from Boa, despite a wider diversity of snakes occurring in this region. Using these new observations and combined pieces of evidence from archaeological, historical, and biological data sources, I propose that the extreme scarcity of Boa in zooarchaeological assemblages reflects their prominent status in Pre-Columbian Amerindian communities.