ABSTRACT

— People have been linked with hutias of the family Capromyidae throughout human history in the Greater Antilles. Of 26 known species, 19 have been found in pre-Columbian archaeological deposits throughout the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands, and surviving species continue to be hunted today. Jamaican inland archaeological sites contain a greater number of terrestrial vertebrates, predominantly the endemic Jamaican hutia (Geocapromys brownii), in contrast to coastal sites that are dominated by marine species. Zooarchaeological remains of hutias at the Bellevue site, which represent 81.7% of the total terrestrial vertebrate sample, were examined to gain a better understanding of the population and insight into the hunting strategy of Amerindians who resided there 1100 years BP. Hutia bones and teeth were measured and compared to a sample of known-age, captive-bred individuals (N = 12). Mandibular tooth row (MTR) measurements provided a good correlation of size with age in the known-age sample, and was used to estimate the ages of 47 mandibles present in three strata of Bellevue site using regression analysis. The same measurement (MTR) of a captive population was used to model a growth curve using von Bertalanffy’s growth equation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no significant difference among three layers of the Bellevue site, all of which consisted of a greater percentage of subadults and young adults than either juveniles or mature adults. Overall, the study revealed no unusual growth or age profiles to suggest the Bellevue hutias differed from a natural free-living population. Neither was there any shift in the selection of animals by hunters over time, as reflected in three depositional layers. These results are considered in the context of what is known of Jamaican hutia biology and current hunting practices. The tolerance of natural populations to hunting pressure over time is evaluated through a hunter model developed for a specific population of hutias in an area of Jamaica where hunting prevails.