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Volume 55 / Social Sciences

ANTHROPOLOGY: ARCHAEOLOGY

Caribbean Area

THE CARIBBEAN CONTINUES TO BE a hotbed of activity, largely due to three trends. The first part of the recent publishing explosion can be attributed to the Columbus Quincentenary which generated numerous critical responses (items bi 95018677 and bi 94003487), along with synthetic volumes dealing with the prehistory of the region (items bi 94003240 and bi 94003260). The fallout from the Quincentenary is expected to continue for several more years. Second, monographs reporting on the results of long-term research projects (e.g., item bi 95018663 on Barbados and item bi 95018678 on St. Eustatius) as well as a number of PhD dissertations (see below) have come to press recently. Finally, publication of the proceedings of the Congress of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology are finally back on track. The Congresses include papers by scholars and avocational archaeologists on method and theory; prehistoric technology; petroglyphs; interaction, adaptation and population movement; prehistoric, historical and underwater archaeology; and physical anthropology. Vol. 11 containing 49 papers was published in 1990; Vol. 12 with 23 papers was published in two parts in 1991 (item bi 96003860); Vol. 13 with 65 papers was published in two parts in 1991; and Vol. 14 with 57 papers was published in 1993, although it carries a 1991 copyright date (item bi 96003854). These volumes are available from the I.A.C.A. office in Martinique.

Archaeologists of Lower Central America continue to make strides in establishing that this geographic area was not just a marginalized periphery, but rather a center that held its own against pressures from both Mesoamerica and the Andes. Several recent works have greatly expanded the scope of analysis, such as in the area of exchange (item bi 93025370). In addition, systematic regional surveys and excavations continue to expand the data base (items bi 93025366 and bi 93025368). Two works of major significance are Moscoso's study of the chiefdoms of Nicaragua (item bi 94003257) and Fonseca's history of Costa Rica (item bi 94003244).

RECENT DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS

Carini, Stephen Peter. Compositional analysis of West Indian Saladoid ceramics and their relevance to Puerto Rican prehistory. University of Connecticut, 1991.

Curet, Luis Antonio. The development of chiefdoms in the Greater Antilles: a regional study of the Valley of Maunabo, Puerto Rico. Arizona State University, 1992.

Hardy, Ellen Teresa. The mortuary behavior of Guanacaste/Nicoya: an analysis of precolumbian social structure. University of California, Los Angeles, 1992.

Higuera-Gundy, Antonia. Antillean vegetational history and paleoclimate reconstructed from the paleolimnological record of Lake Miragoane, Haiti. University of Florida, 1991.

Newson, Lee Ann. Native West Indian plant use. University of Florida, 1993.

Siegel, Peter E. Ideology, power, and social complexity in prehistoric Puerto Rico. State University of New York at Binghamton, 1992.

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