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Diet and Rank in a Caribbean Maritime Society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John G. Crock  and
Nanny Carder
John G. Crock
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Vermont, 111 Delehanty Hall, Burlington, VT 05405 ([email protected])
Nanny Carder
Affiliation:
UVM Consulting Archaeology Program, 111 Delehanty Hall, Burlington, VT 05405 ([email protected])
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Abstract

The investigation of social inequality in the Caribbean mainly has focused on the larger islands of the Greater Antilles where ethnohistoric records and monumental architecture form the basis for analysis of precolumbian complex societies. This paper presents evidence for status differentiation in the Lesser Antilles on the small island of Anguilla within a deposit at the Sandy Hill site and evaluates associated archaeofauna for evidence of rank-based differences in food consumption. When compared with three other sites, the higher density of status-related artifacts and higher densities of food remains at the Sandy Hill site are interpreted as the result of feasting. No evidence for inequality is observed in patterns of food consumption.

Resumen

Resumen

El estudio de la desigualdad social en el Caribe se ha enfocado principalmente en las islas más grandes de las Antillas Mayores donde los registros etnohistóricos y la arquitectura monumental constituyen la base para el análisis de las sociedades complejas precolombinas. Este artículo presenta evidencia de la diferencia de estatus en las Antillas Menores, en la pequeña isla de Anguila, dentro de un depósito en el sitio de Sandy Hill, y evalúa la arqueofauna asociada en busca de evidencia de diferencias basadas en el rango social en lo que se refiere al consumo de alimentos. Al compararse con otros tres sitios, la mayor densidad de artefactos relacionados con el estatus y las mayores densidades de restos de alimentos en el sitio de Sandy Hill se interpretan como el resultado de fiestas. No se observó evidencia de desigualdad en los patrones de consumo de comida.

Type
Themed Section on Zoo Archaeology in Latin America
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 573 - 594
Copyright
Copyright ©2011 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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