For some time now Caribbean archaeology has been in need of a comprehensive monograph that summarizes and discusses its ancient past in the light of new information. Twenty-five years ago, writing such a book would not have been a substantial challenge. At that time, the 7000 years of ancient history in the region was characterized as the sequential replacement of one culture by another in any given particular geographic location. Since then, however, much has changed, forcing an extensive revision of the Caribbean chronology. Today we have a view of the ancient history of the region that is more realistic, complete, sophisticated, multidimensional, complicated, intricate and difficult to understand and explain. Thus, writing a book surveying and reviewing Caribbean archaeology today is definitely much more challenging, arduous, difficult and problematic. For all these reasons, it was with great expectations that I read this book by Keegan and Hofman.
The publication begins by setting the foundation in chapter 1, where the reader is introduced to the geography of the region, the terminology and concepts unique to Caribbean archaeology, and the sources of information traditionally used by researchers. It finishes by presenting the organization of the rest of the monograph and by stating that the authors opted to discuss the Greater Antilles and Bahamas (chapters 2–6) separately from the Lesser Antilles (chapter 7).
Chapter 2 discusses the earliest groups to occupy the islands, groups which are traditionally divided via the periodization Lithic (early) and Archaic Ages (late). The chapter presents a somewhat critical overview of the evidence for these periods and proposes new interpretations of the evidence. Perhaps the most surprising claim is the one related to the migration routes of these early groups. The traditional view proposes two migratory traditions: one that began earlier in Cuba and was characterized by chert blades and other formal flint-knapped tools; and a second (and later) one from Trinidad and represented by assemblages emphasizing ground stone tools. Accordingly, these two population movements travelled east and north, respectively, until they met in Puerto Rico. However, claiming that no early sites have been found in most of the Lesser Antilles, the authors conclude that only one migration wave (the one originating in Cuba) took place, and that what we observe in the archaeological record is the evolution of their material culture wherein flint-knapped tools were replaced with ground stones. The chapter also includes a review of the evidence for early ceramics in the Greater Antilles, which appear much earlier than previously thought.
Chapter 3 discusses the beginning of what is known in the Caribbean as the Early Ceramic Age. This period is characterized mostly by the arrival of South American groups with a well-defined ceramic industry, termed the Saladoids. A secondary element of this period are the Huecoid groups, represented by a significantly different archaeological assemblage and whose origin or historical trajectory has baffled Caribbeanists for over 30 years. Many and diverse themes are covered in this chapter, including: the origin of the series and migration to the islands; ceramic characteristics; subsistence economy; material culture; socio-political organization; and cosmology.
The Post-Saladoid period—or the development and expansion of the Ostionoid series, as it is known in the region—is discussed in chapter 4. In this case, however, the authors change their approach by focusing exclusively on the island of Puerto Rico. Two reasons are given for this: (1) this period has been studied more intensively and extensively in Puerto Rico than in any other island; and (2) this island witnessed the emergence of many social and cultural processes that eventually influenced the rest of the northern Caribbean. Topics included in this chapter include changes possibly caused by climate shifts between 800–1000, the diversification of ceramic styles, population dynamics, settlement patterns and socio-political changes and organization.
Chapter 5 discusses the development and expansion of another two groups: the Meillacoids and the Chicoids. Both groups developed in different regions of the island of Hispaniola and eventually expanded to other islands (discussed in the next chapter). Their relationship/interaction with Ostionoid groups is also approached in this chapter. In my opinion, the most important discussion is possibly the emphasis placed on the Meillacoids, a significant group that, until recently, has been poorly studied and ignored in the region.
Cuba, the Bahama archipelago and Jamaica are discussed together in chapter 6 because they share some history: they all were occupied predominantly by Meillacoid people. Cuba and Jamaica show the presence of Ostionoid incursions followed by the arrival of the Meillacoids, who ended up becoming the more prevalent component. In the case of the Bahama archipelago, the authors argue that its western part was first populated by early ceramic, Archaic groups from Cuba, followed much later in the east by Meillacoid and Chicoid groups from Hispaniola.
Chapter 7 consists of an overview of the cultural history of the Lesser Antilles from the earliest migrations to colonial times, and includes an examination of the archaeology of the Island Caribs or Kalinagos. The chapter discusses many topics including changes in identities as reflected in the pottery, adaptation to different environments, and social and political developments. The book ends with chapter 8, in which the contact period and subsequent colonial enterprises are discussed.
All together, the book is remarkably comprehensive in terms of the number of topics and the discussion is far-reaching, accompanied by an extensive bibliography. Furthermore, the discussion is not a simple summary of the significant archaeological evidence for the Caribbean organized chronologically. The evidence is considered in a critical way and the authors present their own new perspectives on many of the issues. Although I cannot say I agree with most of their arguments, it is clear that a lot of thought and effort was put into an attempt to go beyond the mere descriptive and simplistic view of the ancient Caribbean.
Unfortunately, as I read chapter after chapter, I felt that the book has a series of problems that undermined the attempts of the authors to present a clear view of the ancient history and simultaneously provide new, convincing interpretations of some of the issues. My concerns are diverse and many, but, since it is impossible to discuss them all with any level of detail in a review of this kind, the discussion that follows concentrates on only a few generalizations with some specific examples.
In general, I found the book difficult to read and, sometimes, speculative. The writing style and the confusing organization of some of the chapters (especially chapters 2–6) made following many of the arguments very arduous. Furthermore, on occasion, the text became repetitive when similar discussions were included in more than one chapter (e.g. some of topics on the Archaic populations). One problem regarding typography, which is not fault of the authors, is that all types of chapter subheadings were printed with similar fonts, making it difficult to distinguish between primary, secondary, or even tertiary sections. Because of this, the reader was left guessing if one section dealt with a new topic, or was a continuation of the previous one.
The use of key terminology and concepts (e.g. series, style, Taíno, modo de vida) without clear definitions and the misuse of other terms also makes it difficult for the reader to follow many arguments. For example, in their discussions, the authors regularly switch from the cultural units series to style without a clear statement concerning (1) what they mean by these concepts, and (2) how the use of one unit of analysis in one argument (e.g. series) could be reconciled with their conclusions from other related arguments where they used a different unit (e.g. style). As I see it, one of the major problems is that the term series was incorrectly used as synonymous with culture.
Perhaps a better example of the problem of definitions is the use of the term and concept of Taíno, which is never clearly defined; sometimes it is equated with the Boca Chica style and in other instances with the Chicoid series. A related argument, that I found intriguing, was that there were no Taínos in Puerto Rico, when this island is normally used as one of the classic examples of this ‘culture’. However, without a clear perspective on what the authors mean by Taíno, this argument is difficult to assess.
I found some issues with the use of bibliographic sources. First of all, the authors excessively reference their own work, or the work of their associates or students, even when the work of other researchers would have been better sources. Also, for such a comprehensive and thorough book, it was surprising to see that ethnohistorical evidence was obtained from outdated secondary compilations (e.g. Lóven Reference Lóven1935; Rouse Reference Rouse and Steward1948a,Reference Rouse and Stewardb) and not from the more preferable, published primary sources. Although useful for a general audience, it is widely recognized that these secondary sources are problematic.
In conclusion, I commend the authors for taking on the difficult task of writing a book of this kind. It is clear that their intention was to produce a monograph that was inclusive, comprehensive and with new and challenging ideas. However, issues of clarity of the text, combined with several conceptual problems, prevent the achievement of these goals. To conclude, considering the foregoing discussion, the book does not seem to be appropriate for a non-Caribbeanist audience, much less for the general public.
