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·        Archaeological investigations of Samana Cay were performed by Charles A. Hoffman and Nancy C. Watford Hoffman in 1986 (Hoffman, 1987) and 1987 (Hoffman, 1988).  Several Lucayan-artifact sites were found that “constitute several kilometers of prehistoric settlements along the bay on [the central south coast of] Samana Cay, an island with little potable water today.  Abandoned historic houses and government wells are a testament to a greater quantity of fresh water in the past  [emphases added]" (Hoffman, 1987).   These observations are commensurate with the evidence presented in Valdés (1994), including historical accounts from the Bahamas (pp. 77-78) and Isla Mona (pp. 84-85).

 

References:

 

Hoffman, C. A., Jr, (ed.). 1987. Current Research, Caribbean. American Antiquity 52:191-193.

Hoffman, C. A., Jr, (ed.). 1988. Current Research, Caribbean. American Antiquity 53:189-192.

 

 

·        From Bahamian Archaeology (p. 49) by W. F. Keegan (Univ. Florida):  “Efforts to reconstruct the environment into which Columbus sailed have also indicated that sea level may have been 50 cm higher than present⁴³ [⁴³=Valdés (1994); see pg. 86].  If this minor rise in sea-level [sic] occurred, it would help to explain settlement distributions along the south coasts of Caicos Islands (Figure 4.3).  The largest of these sites, MC-6, which has a single radiocarbon date of cal AD 1437 ±70, is located on the first rise of permanently dry land at an elevation of about 1 meter above the coastal plain.  Although MC-6 is today almost three miles from the sea, Sullivan measured the coastal plain (‘salina’) as rising only 25 cm above present mean sea-level [sic].  A 50 cm rise in sea level would have flooded the salina and made the site directly accessible by canoe.  Sites on East and North Caicos, which were reported by Theodoor de Booy in 1912, are located in similar settings.”

 

Reference:

 

Keegan, W. F. 1997. Bahamian Archaeology, Life in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos before Columbus.  Media Publishing, Nassau.

 

 

·        Eric Kjellmark has performed a paleoecological study of sediments from Church’s Blue Hole on Andros Island, Bahamas.  Charcoal stratigraphy and pollen analysis on a 2 m sediment core, although interpreted by Kjellmark to primarily reflect anthropogenic effects, are commensurate with the climatic trends illustrated in Figure 6 of Valdés (1994) for Haiti (Lake Miragoane) and San Salvador (Watling) Island, Bahamas (Watling’s Blue Hole).  The Andros data indicate:

§        <2000 radiocarbon years before present (RCYBP) to c. 1530 RCYBP. Dry shrubland vegetation indicative of arid conditions.

§        c. 1530 RCYBP to c. 740 RCYBP.  Tropical hardwood thicket indicative of wetter conditions.

§        c. 740 RCYBP to c. 430 RCYBP.  Peak in charcoal concentration and transition to pinewoods, consistent with drier conditions and increased fire frequency.

§        c. 430 RCYBP to c. 140 RCYBP (date extrapolated by J. Valdés).  Decrease in percent pine and grass pollen and pteridophyte (ferns) (suggesting conversion to a hardwood canopy) and a drop in charcoal concentration, consistent with wetter conditions.

§        >c. 140 RCYBP (date extrapolated by JV). Increased charcoal concentration and rise in pine pollen, consistent with re-establishment of drier conditions.

 

Reference:

 

Kjellmark, E. 1996. Late Holocene Climate Change and Human Disturbance on Andros Island, Bahamas.  Journal of Paleolimnology 15:133-145.

 

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