Indigenous adornment in the circum-Caribbean

the production, use, and exchange through the lenses of the microscope

Abstract

This PhD dissertation investigates patterns in ornament production, use, and exchange in the pre-colonial Caribbean. The first half proposes a research strategy for studying circum-Caribbean collections through technological and microwear analyses. Additionally, an ethnographic collection of indigenous ornaments from South America is studied as basis for interpretation of use-wear. In the second part, Ceramic Age archaeological collections from the Lesser and Greater Antilles are analysed. The presence of certain technical products and of use-wear are combined to reach a more complex understanding of social interactions and the mechanisms responsible for them.