Introduction

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Tutu Archaeological Village site was initially occupied shortly after the beginning of the Christian era and abandoned sometime around the time of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World. Two major periods of site occupation took place: one between cal. AD 65 and cal. AD 900 and the other between cal. AD 1150 and AD 1500. Although earlier dates were obtained they could not be associated confidently with other evidence of site occupation. On the later end of the time scale 2-sigma date ranges extend to cal. AD 1635, but the lack of fifteenth-century European trade goods in any of the recovered material suggests that either the inhabitants of the Tutu site were not present at the time of European contact or they abandoned the site very shortly thereafter.