CONTINENTAL CONNECTIONS AND INSULAR DISTRIBUTIONS: DEER BONE ARTIFACTS OF THE PRECOLUMBIAN WEST INDIES—A REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS WITH NEW RECORDS

The remains of non-native deer (Cervidae) have been sparsely recorded in Amerindian archaeological sites of the West Indies, but evidence indicates the presence of at least two genera, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus) and brocket deer (Mazama), during the precolumbian era known as the Ceramic Age (ca. 500 BC–AD 1500). Due to underreporting of finds and lack of regional integration of existing records, however, the West Indian distribution of cervid remains and their cultural importance are not well understood. Here, I synthesize records for unmodified and modified deer bone from 29 archaeological sites on seven islands in the precolumbian island Caribbean with descriptions for four new records of deer bone artifacts from Carriacou and Grenada. I discuss taxonomic attribution issues, evidence for manufacturing techniques, and the utilitarian and symbolic significance of deer bone artifacts. Particular attention is given to proportions of worked and unworked bone, element diversity, and skeletal part representation as a means to distinguish the introduction of living deer from the introduction of carcass products. The evidence presented here is consistent with island Amerindians importing cervid bone as finished artifacts or raw material for tool and ornament manufacture rather than live animals. This study enhances our understanding of the ways in which Amerindians were engaged in exchange networks based on the movement of exotic goods between the West Indies and continent. More broadly, it contributes to conceptual methods for distinguishing the transfer of body parts from the translocation of live animals in studies of exotic animal dispersal by humans. Si bien se han registrado escasos restos de venados (Cervidae) alóctonos en los sitios amerindios de las Indias Occidentales, la evidencia indica la presencia de al menos dos géneros, el venado de cola blanca (Odocoileus) y el venado Mazama, durante el periodo precolombino conocido como la etapa Cerámica (alrededor de 500 aC–1500 dC). Sin embargo, la distribución e importancia cultural de los restos de cérvidos en las Antillas aún no han sido comprendidas en su totalidad debido a la ausencia de información sobre los hallazgos y la falta de integración regional de los registros existentes. En este trabajo se presenta una síntesis de los registros de huesos de venado sin y con modificación provenientes de 29 sitios arqueológicos localizados en siete islas del Caribe, junto con descripciones de cuatro nuevos re