1st Edition

The Tutu Archaeological Village Site A Multi-disciplinary Case Study in Human Adaptation

Edited By Elizabeth Righter Copyright 2002
    416 Pages
    by Routledge

    416 Pages
    by Routledge

    Excavations at the Tutu site represent a dramatic chapter in the annals of Caribbean archaeological excavation. The site was discovered in 1990 during the initial site clearing for a shopping mall in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The site was excavated with the assistance of a team of professional archaeologists and volunteers. Utilizing resources and funds donated by the local scientific communities, the project employed a multidisciplinary sampling strategy designed to recover material for analysis by experts in fields such as anthropology, archaeology, palaeobotany, zooarchaeology, bioarchaeology, palaeopathology and photo imaging. This volume reports the results of these various applied analytical techniques laying a solid foundation for future comparative studies of prehistoric Caribbean human populations and cultures.

    INTRODUCTION Chapter One BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH AND SAMPLE COLLECTION AT THE TUTU SITE Chapter Two ANALYSIS OF CHARRED BOTANICAL REMAINS FROM THE TUTU SITE Chapter Three PHYTOLITHIC REMAINS FROM THE TUTU SITE Chapter Four FAUNAL REMAINS FROM THE TUTU SITE Chapter Five TUTU POTTERY AND CERAMIC CHRONOLOGY Chapter Six INVESTIGATION OF CERAMIC VARIABILITY AT THE TUTU SITE THROUGH ACID-EXTRACTION ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS Chapter Seven BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN THE PREHISTORIC CARIBBEAN: OSTEOLOGY AND BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE TUTU SITE Chapter Eight THE TUTU TEETH: ASSESSING PREHISTORIC HEALTH AND LIFEWAY FROM ST THOMAS Chapter Nine TRACE ELEMENT ANALYSES OF SKELETAL REMAINS AND ASSOCIATED SOILS FROM THE TUTU SITE Chapter Ten BONE ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS AND PREHISTORIC DIET AT THE TUTU SITE Chapter Eleven FLAKED STONE ARTIFACTS FROM THE TUTU SITE Chapter Twelve POST HOLE PATTERNS: STRUCTURES, CHRONOLOGY AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AT THE TUTU SITE Chapter Thirteen SITE ANALYSIS

    Biography

    At the time of the Tutu investigations, Elizabeth Righter was Senior Archaeologist in the Division for Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) of the Virgin Islands Government. After three years as a consultant to that office, also known as the State Office of Historic Preservation or SHPO, Righter now is writing up the results of her many years of research in the Caribbean Islands and is President of her own archaeological consulting firm in Bradenton, Florida.