Premium
Stratigraphic investigations at Los Buchillones, a coastal Taino site in north‐central Cuba
Author(s) -
Peros Matthew C.,
Graham Elizabeth,
Davis Anthony M.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.20113
Subject(s) - clearance , geology , holocene , site selection , sediment , sea level , archaeology , settlement (finance) , paleontology , oceanography , geography , medicine , world wide web , political science , computer science , payment , law , urology
The authors present stratigraphic data from Los Buchillones, a now submerged Taino village on the north coast of central Cuba that was occupied from some time prior to A.D. 1220 until 1640 or later. Los Buchillones is one of the best‐preserved sites in the Caribbean, with material culture remains that include palm thatch and wooden structural elements from some of the more than 40 collapsed structures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the environment and site‐formation processes of the Taino settlement. Sediment cores were sampled from the site and its vicinity to permit integration of the geological and archaeological stratigraphies. The cores were analyzed for color, texture, mollusk content, elemental geochemistry, and mineralogy. The results of the stratigraphic work are consistent with regional sealevel data that shows relative sea level has risen gradually during the late Holocene, but has remained relatively stable since the time the Taino first occupied Los Buchillones. Of the two structures partially cleared, at least one appears to have been built over the water, supported on pilings. Site selection is likely to have resulted from a consideration of environmental factors, such as access to marine, terrestrial, and lagoonal resources, and proximity to freshwater springs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.