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A Review of Ancient Borinquen, November 2, 2006
This review is from: Ancient Borinquen: Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Native Puerto Rico (Paperback)
Before starting this review, I need to acknowledge that I am currently working on a project with Peter Siegel, and that my employer also employs Karen Anderson-Córdova on occasion.
I purchased Ancient Borinquen, in part, to catch up on the literature of Puerto Rican archaeology. I was not disappointed. The editor, Peter Siegel, has done an excellent job of compiling papers that capture the breadth and diversity of archaeological research on the island. Ancient Borinquen is current, and its list of contributors includes many of the leading lights of Caribbean research. The volume provides an excellent overview of new approaches and new discoveries in Puerto Rican archaeology. It is not designed as a stand-alone text on the subject, but certainly should be included on the reading list of upperclassmen and graduate students.
The volume includes ten sections, plus a preface. Reniel Rodríguez Ramos begins with an interesting study of the Saladoid to Ostionoid transition. Unlike most studies of these manifestations, Rodríguez Ramos examines the change in terms of lithic technology rather than ceramic modes. The assemblage is from the Paso del Indio site, the subject of an important but as-yet-unreported, data recovery excavation.
In Section 2, Jeff Walker presents an overview of the Paso del Indio excavations. Because of a variety of fiscal, political, and personnel issues, it is unlikely that a full study will be available in the near future. His progress report on this complex, multi-component site will be the major source of information on this site for several years. Walker does an admirable job of condensing the extensive information and highlighting the most important points.
The contribution by Peter Siegel, John Jones, Deborah Pearsall, and Daniel Wagner is a strong example of the maturation of archaeology on the island. The authors utilize a comibination of chronological, settlement, geoarchaeological, and microbotanical data to examine the relationship of environment and settlement in the Maisabel vicinity.
Two leaders in Caribbean subsistence studies - Susan deFrance and Lee Newsom - provide a thorough overview of paleoethnobotanical research in Puerto Rico. Many of their primary data are contained in often hard to obtain CRM reports, and this synthesis will be helpful to area researchers.
In Section 5, Anne Stokes examines subsistence change through time from another perspective, stable isotope signatures of human bone. Using samples from Maisabel and Paso del Indio, Stokes documents significant differences in the signatures from the late Saladoid and mid-Ostionoid periods.
The contribution from Torres reports on his ongoing dissertation research into pre-Hispanic settlement in south-central Puerto Rico. He argues that archaeologists should be addressing communities rather than individual sites, to better understand regional settlement-subsistence systems. Torres correctly argues that the role of the Tibes Ceremonial Center cannot be fully understood until we know the relationship of Tibes with the surrounding communities. His broader perspective complements the detailed, site-specific work of Curet and others at Tibes.
After reading Jose Oliver's work on the roles of cemis (Section 7) and Peter Roe's excellent analysis of Puerto Rican rock art (Section 8), I felt I was finally starting to appreciate the complexity of Taino and pre-Taino ritual. Oliver's ongoing work in the Caguana region epitomizes one theme of this volume: it is time to shift focus from single sites and begin to consider regional patterns of adaptation. Likewise, Roe has recognized that sufficient data are at hand to begin addressing changes through time in iconography of rock art, and to relate those changes to broader cultural shifts.
Karen Anderson-Córdova extends the temporal range of this volume by addressing the sudden and violent impact of Spanish settlement on the Taino population of Puerto Rico. Anderson-Córdova addresses key sources in reconstructing the rapid decline in Taino population. Although some modern scholars and Taino descendants may argue with her statement that "the Taínos have been extinct for at least five centuries," Anderson-Córdova is correct in noting the rapid loss of a distinct Taino culture in the face of the European onslaught. She is also right in noting that almost no archaeology has been conducted at contact-period Taino sites.
Peter Siegel completes the volume with a summary chapter. Although he addresses each of the contributions, his section also defines future avenues of research, and is well worth the read.
Overall, Ancient Borinquen serves notice that Puerto Rican archaeology continues to be dynamic, interesting, and challenging. As a discipline, Puerto Rican archaeology has moved beyond the excellent baseline work provided by Ricardo Alegría and Irving Rouse, and the future is full of promise. To see where Puerto Rican archaeology stands in 2006, the student or professional archaeologist need look no further than Ancient Borinquen. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
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