Barbuda
Barbuda, the small sister island to Antigua, provides a unique geographically bound island environment to study people interacting with their environment over the last 6000 years through the in depth investigation of faunal remains. This project will apply a longue duree approach to understanding the processes and transitions from the archaic settlements of the Siboney to modern day Barbudans. Faunal remains from all time periods are looked at to identify continuity, change, ritual and tradition. The biochronology of the island is mapped through the species abundance and size. What species are available, does their abundance and size change through time, are their extinctions? What are the causes? How are Barbudans of today look at their environment and what animals do they hunt and fish. Are some of the differences noted due to contact with people of the mainland? Is trade and desirability of certain products driving the economic activities, are the changes due to environmental changes and/or overfishing? Could the translocation of animals from the continent affect the economic drivers? Are faunal evidence more than just environment and diet? These are some of the questions we are trying to shed light on while excavating in Barbuda. Our excavations are a combination of rescue archaeology and research.
- Student Manual 2016 (pdf)
