1. Blanchard Cave 2: A historical period Audubon's shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri) nesting site in Marie-Galante (Guadeloupe islands, FWI)
- Author
-
Corentin Bochaton, Salvador Bailon, Monica Gala, Arnaud Lenoble, Nathalie Serrand, Jean-Baptiste Mallye, De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Archéozoologie, archéobotanique : sociétés, pratiques et environnements (AASPE), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB ), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap), European Project: 2/2.4/-33456,BIVAAG, Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution (MECADEV), Laboratorio di Paleontologia e Archeozoologia, Soprintendenza Speciale al Museo Nazionale Preistorico ed Etnografico 'L. Pigorini', Roma, and Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico 'L. Pigorini
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Taphonomy ,[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,biology ,Ecology ,Puffinus ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Shearwater ,Natural (archaeology) ,law.invention ,Prehistory ,Cave ,law ,Period (geology) ,14. Life underwater ,Radiocarbon dating ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
In this paper we present a natural deposit in Marie-Galante island (French West Indies), Blanchard 2, where historical-period Audubon's shearwater remains dominate the vertebrate assemblage. We combined a study of sediment geometry, a taphonomic analysis of molluscs, crustaceans and vertebrate remains, and direct radiocarbon dating on bird bone to demonstrate that the cave was used as a nesting ground during the island's colonial period. This approach also allows the discussion of the causes leading to the desertion of the site by birds. Finally, we investigate hypotheses regarding the dynamics of Audubon's shearwater nesting during prehistoric and historical times and the impact of anthropogenic phenomenon on these birds.
- Published
- 2018