Cover Page
The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/66437 holds various files of this Leiden University
dissertation.
Author: Slayton, E.R.
Title: Seascape corridors : modeling routes to connect communities across the Caribbean
Sea
Issue Date: 2018-09-12
Sidestone Press
SEASCAPE CORRIDORS
MODELING ROUTES TO CONNECT COMMUNITIES
ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN SEA
SEASCAPE CORRIDORS
EMMA RUTH SLAYTON
© 2018 E.R. Slayton
Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden www.sidestone.com
Imprint: Sidestone Press Dissertations Lay-out & cover design: Sidestone Press
Photographs cover: beach with canoe Costa Rica; damedias | stock.adobe.com Aerial view of Saint Martin Beach: Thierrydehove | dreamstime.com ISBN 978-90-8890-577-3 (softcover)
ISBN 978-90-8890-578-0 (hardcover) ISBN 978-90-8890-579-7 (PDF e-book)
This research has received funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO); projectnumber 360-62-060.
This dissertation followed the Ethics code of Leiden University.
DOI dataset: https://doi.org/10.17026/dans-zfu-tscq
References to appendices in this work refer to the appendix for Slayton’s PhD Dissertation, which can be found through the Leiden University Library.
“Man, building this greatest and most personal of all tools, has in turn re- ceived a boat-shaped mind, and the boat, a man-shaped soul.”
John Steinbeck, 1951
Contents
Acknowledgments 11 1 Introduction 13
1.1 Objectives and Research Questions 16
1.2 The Model’s Underpinnings 17
1.3 Outline of Chapters 18
2 Modeling Canoe Voyaging in Theory 23
2.1 Seascapes as Spaces 24
2.2 Movement through Sea Spaces 27
2.3 Sea-based Mental Maps 31
2.4 Conclusion 36
3 Caribbean Canoes and Canoe Modeling 37
3.1 The Canoe as a Base for Modeling 38
3.1.1 Canoes: What we Know 39
3.1.2 Paddles and Propulsion 44
3.1.3 To Sail or not to Sail 47
3.2 Modeling Land and Sea Routes 48
3.2.1 The Origins of Optimal Modeling Methods 49 3.2.2 Previous Attempts to Model Sea Routes 53 3.2.3 Incorporating Archaeological Evidence 61
3.3 Conclusion 62
4 Modeling Reciprocal Voyages 63
4.1 The Influence of Current and Wind 64
4.2 Adding a Human Element 67
4.3 Evaluating Currents 70
4.4 Isochrone Modeling 71
5 Routes Between Neighboring Islands. Connecting Partners 81 in the Long Island Lithic Exchange Network
5.1 Some Islands and Sites 84
5.1.1 Antigua and Long Island 86
5.1.2 Anguilla 87
5.1.3 St. Martin 88
5.1.4 Saba 88
5.1.5 St. Eustatius 90
5.1.6 St. Kitts 90
5.1.7 Nevis 91
5.1.8 Barbuda 91
5.1.9 Montserrat 91
5.2 Modeling Interpretations 92
5.2.1 Route Costs 93
5.2.2 Route Trajectories 102
5.3 Conclusion 131
6 Modeling Canoeing Across the Mona Passage and the 135 Anegada Passage. Connecting the Greater and
the Lesser Antilles
6.1 Connecting the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles 137
6.1.1 Taíno across the Antillean Divide 139
6.1.2 Ceramic Styles 141
6.1.3 Three Pointers and Shell Masks 143
6.2 Islands and Points 144
6.2.1 Southeastern Hispaniola 145
6.2.2 Mona Island 146
6.2.3 Puerto Rico 146
6.2.4 St. Thomas and St. John 147
6.2.5 St. Croix 147
6.2.6 Anguilla 148
6.2.7 Saba 149
6.3 Modeling Routes between the Greater Antilles and the 150 Lesser Antilles
6.3.1 Underlying Environmental Factors 150
6.3.2 Failed Routes and Navigation Challenges 164
6.3.3 Route Cost 164
6.3.4 Route Trajectory 172
6.4 Conclusion 194
7 Voyaging Over Longer Distances. Connecting the South 197 American Mainland with the Windward Islands
7.1 Kaliña and Kalinago 200
7.1.1 Ceramic Styles 200
7.1.2 Language 203
7.1.3 Ethnohistoric Accounts 205
7.1.4 Mainland and island locations 206
7.2 Route Modeling 208
7.2.1 Failed Routes and Navigation Challenges 211
7.2.2 Current tool 214
7.2.3 Route Cost 220
7.2.4 Route Layout 225
7.3 Conclusion 241
8 Discussion 243
8.1 A Brief Review 244
8.2 Observations on Research Questions 248
8.2.1 Seasonality 248
8.2.2 Canoe Pathways and Site Placement 251
8.2.3 Modeled Seafaring Practices, Navigation, and 257 Mental Maps
8.3 Limitations 261
8.4 Future Work 263
Bibliography 269 Summary 305 Samenvatting 309
Curriculum vitae 313
11
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Dr. Corinne Hofman. Without her guidance, I would not have been able to complete this work. I am grateful to the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Island Networks Project for making this research possible.
I am especially thankful for the guidance of my co-supervisor Dr. Lewis Borck and for advice I received from Dr. Angus Mol, Dr. Andrzej Antczak, Dr. Arie Boomert, Dr.
Jaime Pagán Jiménez, Dr. Marlena Antczak and Dr. Alexander Geurds. Maribel Adame Valero and Ilone de Vries-Lemaire who supported me through this process.
Jan Christoph Athenstädt (University of Konstanz) and Jan Hildenbrand, or as I like to refer to them Jan2, worked tirelessly on the route cost tool, and without them this research would not have been possible. A special thanks to Jan C. A. for checking my methods section to ensure the math was correct. I also appreciate the work of Dr.
Viviana Amati (University of Konstanz) and Kirsten Ziesemer who helped me statisti- cally analyze my results.
I owe a debt to Dr. Benoit Bérard (University of the Antilles and Guyane) for his help in understanding Caribbean canoe use. I am grateful for the support of the Karisko project and was very fortunate to work with several of the group’s members, including Marcel Rapon, when I visited Martinique to take part in their canoe train- ing exercises.
My officemate Floris Keehnen was, and is, amazing. As are the rest of my friends in the Netherlands: Felicia, Mariska, Roos, Phillipa, Jana, Eloise, Natalia, Eldris, Judith, Sam, Lou, Sony, Eduardo, Julian, Judith, Hayley, Katarina, Tom, Catarina, Marlieke, Andy, Jimmy, and Csilla. Thank you also to my friends outside the Netherlands:
Nicola, Kathy, Liana, Katie, Kristin, Emily, Hannah, Julia, Patrick, and Sam. A special thanks to Alex who kept me sane and was the best travel buddy a woman could ask for. Also, to the Seattle-based brunch club who kept my spirits up on every trip home.
Thank you to my family in Florida, whom I love.
Most importantly, I would like to thank my parents. I am so grateful for everything you have done for me. Your investment in my education is a gift I can never repay. Your support has meant the world to me. I love you both.
