ABSTRACT
Recently recovered evidence from mortuary sites in northwestern Cuba indicates that Late Archaic subsistence practices on the island were much more complex than previously thought. Clumps of starch grains consistent with common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) were identified in human dental calculus recovered from burials at the mortuary site of Canímar Abajo. The starch evidence, coupled with stable isotope analysis of, and AMS radiocarbon dates from, human bone collagen, suggest that cultivation of exotic domesticated plant species (common bean and, perhaps, maize) was practiced in the Río Canímar estuary locale by as early as 1200 bce. Stable isotope analysis and AMS dating of human bone collagen recovered from mortuary sites outside the Canímar estuary area indicates that other communities in northwestern Cuba maintained a subsistence regime based solely on foraging until as late as 780 ce. Informed by the concepts of low-level food production and ecological niche construction, we discuss the implications of this evidence for our understanding of food economies in Late Archaic Cuba.
