Search

International audience; Archaeological research, conducted on the French part of Saint-Martin, in the Lesser Antilles, documents the history of Amerindian communities on this island from the 4th millennium BC to the 15th century AD. Eight sites, spanning almost completely this sequence, have yielded extensive assemblages of invertebrate remains. Analysis and comparison of these assemblages with contemporaneous settlements from nearby islands reveal trends in the ways Amerindian communities exploited these resources. These results, especially when contrasted with a palaeo-climatic frame recently produced for Saint-Martin, reflect the intricate ways in which anthropic and natural systems interact.

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.

Among the most recognizable and enigmatic artefacts found in pre-Columbian archaeological contexts of the Ceramic Age in the Greater and Lesser Antilles is the three-pointer, a triangular shaped object made of various mineral and organic materials. Despite a few ethno-historic mentions and abundant academic speculations, little is known about the social and spiritual dimensions these once animate objects had in the Amerindian Antillean communities. Furthermore, very little can be empirically verified. The wide array of known specimens shows many variations, including the presence/absence of usually poorly preserved traces of black residue, often described as plant tars, resins or gums, or as inorganic bitumen. Well preserved residues of this type have been observed on a three-pointer specimen recently discovered in a Late Ceramic Age context (Troumassoid series, 10th–11th century AD) of the Tourlourous site on the island of Marie-Galante (Guadeloupe, French Lesser Antilles). They have been physico-chemically characterized as bitumen, and they preserve evidence of a specific tying system. These data raise considerations on two points: the necessity to better document these sometimes tenuous clues of tying and adhesion systems implying bitumen (and other glues), and the need to consider that three-pointers (and other artefacts), while actively used in the mediation between social and spiritual dimensions, also have a practical side which should be addressed in technological terms in order to better understand all their dimensions.

Pit cave 6 on Pointe Gros Rempart (Baie-Mahault, La Désirade, French West Indies) is a stratified fossil-bearing site. While the archaeological material and faunal remains from the oldest assemblage demonstrate it to have formed during the Amerindian period, the second assemblage dates to the first one-hundred years of the island's colonial period (mid-18th to mid-19th centuries). Faunal analysis revealed the presence of 4 now locally extinct or extinct species, three of which have never before been documented on La Désirade (Ameivasp.,Leiocephaluscf.cuneusandAlsophissp.). Changing faunal spectrums (invertebrates and vertebrates) due to environmental destabilisation combined with aspects of the island's colonial economy demonstrate habitat degradation and over-grazing to be the principal causes of extinctions and or extirpations.

Resume Une sequence de vases lagunaires de l'etang de Grand-Case, a Saint-Martin (Petites Antilles), couvrant les quatre derniers millenaires, est analysee. Trois periodes climatiques et sedimentaires peuvent etre distinguees : (1) une periode globalement seche (4200–2300 BP), caracterisee par le depot de vases carbonatees, de gypse et de lits sableux deposes par des cyclones ; (2) une periode humide (2300–1150 BP), ou dominent des vases organiques ; (3) une periode recente (1150 BP jusqu'au present), plus complexe et marquee par les activites humaines. Ces differentes phases trouvent leur correspondance dans les enregistrements livres par d'autres lacs de l'aire Antilles–Mesoamerique. Les phenomenes climatiques impliques, d'une part, dans les variations de frequence des cyclones et, d'autre part, dans les variations de la pluviosite sur les Petites Antilles sont lies au deplacement de la zone de convergence intertropicale. Ces modifications climatiques pourraient constituer l'un des elements d'explication des changements observes dans le peuplement de l'ile de Saint-Martin. Pour citer cet article : P. Bertran et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).

A multiproxy analysis of lacustrine sediments cored in Grand-Case Pond at Saint-Martin, north of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, reveals three distinct climatic periods for the last 3700 years. From 3700 to ~2500 yr cal. BP and from 1150 yr cal. BP to the present, carbonate mud deposition occurred in connection with pond lowstands. These periods were also punctuated by severe drought events, marked by gypsum laminae, and hurricane landfalls, leading to marine sand inputs into the pond. The intermediate time interval, from 2500 to 1150 yr cal. BP, is typified by black organic mud deposition, suggesting that hypoxic to anoxic conditions prevailed at the pond bottom. These were probably linked with a perennial pond highstand and reflect more uniform and wetter climatic conditions than today. The carbon isotopic composition of the ostracod Perissocytheridea bisulcata shows that the lowest δ13C values are recorded during the hypoxic periods, as a consequence of bacterial recycling of isotopically depleted organic matter. Such a climatic history agrees closely with that documented from other records in the Caribbean area, such as the Cariaco Basin, central coast of Belize or Barbados. By constrast, discrepancies seem to emerge from the comparison between hurricane activity recorded at Saint-Martin on the one hand and Vieques (Puerto Rico) on the other hand. We explain this apparent contradiction by a balance between two distinct storm paths in response to latitudinal shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Stronger storm activity over the Gulf coast and the inner Caribbean Sea is favoured by a southern position of the ITCZ in connection with dry climatic conditions. Plausible links with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are also suggested.

Cet article est la synthese de travaux menes depuis 1995 avec de nombreux collaborateurs. Qu’ils trouvent ici l’expression de ma reconnaissance : Andre Delpuech et Antoine Chancerel, respectivement ancien et actuel conservateurs du Sra de Guadeloupe, Christian Stouvenot du Sra Guadeloupe, Olivier Kayser, ancien conservateur du Sra de Martinique, Benoit Berard de l’universite Antilles-Guyane, Nathalie Vidal, Sra Martinique et Sda, Christophe Henocq de l’association archeologique Hope Estate, D...

Exploitation des invertébrés par les sociétés précolombiennes des Petites Antilles. Les invertébrés (mollusques et crustacés) ont été des ressources non négligeables pour les sociétés précolombiennes présentes dans les Petites Antilles entre le VIe millénaire av. J.-C. et le xve siècle apr. J.-C. Leur prise en compte par le biais des analyses archéozoologiques contribue à définir les systèmes socio-économiques et culturels de ces sociétés. Les données de vingt-et-un sites répartis sur sept îles des Petites Antilles permettent d’esquisser l’évolution des schémas d’exploitation durant les phases chrono-culturelles majeures. Les mollusques semblent intervenir dans la mobilité et le mode d’occupation des espaces des premiers occupants, chasseurs-cueilleurs, de la période archaïque. L’exploitation des invertébrés par les premiers groupes sédentaires du début de la période céramique présente des spécificités qui suggèrent une économie homogène, peu diversifiée localement, reflet d’une relative cohésion culturelle. Durant la suite de la période céramique, les formes d’exploitation, plus variées, sont marquées par des changements de cibles qui suggèrent une gestion plus pragmatique et intensive de ces ressources, dans un contexte de diversification culturelle. Ces grandes tendances doivent encore être affinées par la meilleure compréhension du cadre paléo-environnemental et des systèmes techniques de ces sociétés. Exploitation of invertebrates by the Precolumbian societies of the Lesser Antilles. Invertebrates (molluscs and crustaceans) were significant resources for the Precolumbian societies present in the West Indian islands between the VIth millenium B.C. and the xvth century A.D. Integrating them through archaeozoological analysis contributes to the definition of the socio-economical and cultural systems of these societies. Data derived from twenty one sites distributed on seven islands of the Lesser Antilles allow to sketch the evolution of the exploitation patterns during the major chrono-cultural phases. Molluscs seem to have played a role in the mobility and territorial occupation patterns of the first hunter-gatherer settlers of the Archaic period. Exploitation of invertebrates by the first sedentary groups of the early Ceramic period, shows specificities which suggest an homogenous economy, little diversified locally, reflecting a relative cultural cohesion. During the rest of the Ceramic period, the exploitation patterns appear more varied. They are characterized by changes in targets which suggest a more pragmatic and intensive managment of the resources, in a context of cultural diversification. These main trends still need to be refined with a better understanding of the paleo-environmental frame and the technical systems of these societies. Aprovechamiento de los invertebrados por las sociedades prehispánicas de las Antillas Menores. Invertebrados (molluscos y crustáceos) fueron recursos no despreciables para las sociedades precolombinas presentes en las Antillas Menores entre el VI° milenio a.C. y el siglo xv d.C. Su integración mediante los análisis arqueozoológicos contribuye a la definición de los sistemas socioeconómicos y culturales de estas sociedades. Los datos de veintiún sitios distribuidos en siete islas de las Antillas Menores permiten esbozar la evolución de los esquemas de explotación durante las fases crono-culturales principales. Molluscos parecen intervenir en la movilidad y el modo de ocupación de los espacios de los primeros ocupantes, cazadores y colectores del período arcaico. La explotación de los invertebrados por los primeros grupos sedentarios del principio del período cerámico, presenta especificidades que sugieren una economía homogénea, poco diversificada localmente, reflejo de una relativa cohesión cultural. Durante el resto del período cerámico, las formas de explotación, más variadas, se caracterizan por cambios de objetivos que sugieren una gestión más pragmática y más intensiva de estos recursos, en un contexto de diversificación cultural. Estas grandes tendencias deben aún ser precisadas por la mejor comprensión del marco medioambiental y de los sistemas técnicos de estas sociedades.