ABSTRACT
The indigenous occupation of Mona Island spans 5, 000 years and is evidenced through ball court plazas in the centre of the island and the coastal village site on Playa Sardinera. Current studies ongoing at University of Manchester by Michael Buckley and Virginia Harvey are employing Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectroscopy (ZooMS), a method that analyses peptide fingerprinting on animal teeth (collagen) to determine species. Whether evidenced through European and Indigenous cave painting or the repurposing and physical modification of material culture, the island of Mona, Puerto Rico, in addition to being an important nexus of encounters along the Atlantic route from Europe to the Americas, was also the centre of 16 century colonial projects. A materials science approach to the multi-material assemblage available from the site will be complementary to ongoing studies and contribute valuable insights to further elucidate Indigenous, African and European encounters and their influence on contemporary Caribbean identity.
