Preceramic Faunal Exploitation at the Las Obas Site, Cuba

Roger H. Colten,1 Elizabeth Terese Newman2 and Brian Worthington3

1Division of Anthropology, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, P.O. Box 208118, New Haven CT 06520-8118 USA —email: [email protected] 2Stony Brook Southampton, 252 Chancellor’s Hall, 239 Montauk Highway, Southampton NY 11968 USA 3Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc., 315 NW 138 Terrace, Jonesville FL 32669 USA

Abstract In 1956 Paul Hahn excavated two trenches at the preceramic site of Las Obas near Manzanillo in southeastern Cuba. Our analysis of vertebrate faunal remains from this site shows that while the as- semblage from Las Obas is dominated by the remains of hutia, bones of fish, and reptiles are also well represented. This paper focuses on the ecological and economic implications of the verte- brate faunal assemblage from Las Obas and also presents two new radiocarbon dates for the site.

Keywords Hutia, preceramic, zooarchaeology, Cuba.

Introduction ramic subsistence patterns on Cuba and more se- curely dating these important collections. We In 1956 and 1957 Paul Hahn surveyed and exca- begin with a general ecological and cultural con- vated at several locations in southern Cuba as part text for the island of Cuba, discuss Hahn’s re- of his dissertation research on the chronology of search, present two new radiocarbon dates for the preceramic cultures in the region. Hahn’s study in- site and, finally, discuss the size and composition cluded the excavation of two trenches at the pre- of the collected vertebrate faunal remains, draw- ceramic site of Las Obas, near Manzanillo in ing tentative conclusions about subsistence pat- southeastern Cuba (Hahn 1961). (Hahn used the terns of Cuban preceramic people. expression “non-ceramic” to describe the Archaic sites and the cultures that did not make ceramics; Environmental Context more recently, this part of Caribbean prehistory has been called “preceramic,” although recent re- Cuba is a geologically old island that has been sep- search indicates that some Archaic or pre-Sal- arated from the surrounding continents for mil- adoid sites include pottery [Keegan 2006]. For the lions of years (Iturralde-Vinent and MacPhee purposes of this paper, we use “preceramic” to in- 1999). The modern nation of Cuba includes dicate these pre-Saladoid sites of the region, in- 110,860 km2 of land, approximately one-half the cluding those excavated by Hahn.) Although he land area of the Caribbean Islands. The main is- was primarily interested in artifacts and chronol- land of Cuba is approximately 1,200 km long. The ogy, Hahn’s excavations at this site yielded a large terrain is mostly flat, with some rolling plains, al- assemblage of vertebrate faunal remains, perhaps though in the southeastern part of the island there as many as 150,000 bones and bone fragments. are rugged hills and mountains. The highest ele- Here we present an analysis of a sample of these vation is the peak of Pico Turquino at 2005 m remains, with the objective of investigating prece- above sea level. There are few inland lakes and

Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50(1):75–84, April 2009. © 2009 Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University. All rights reserved. • http://www.peabody.yale.edu 76 Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50(1) • April 2009

Figure . The Las Obas site (in circle), near Manzanillo, Cuba (Carta de la República de Cuba 1933). only one navigable river. The climate is tropical, the of the megafauna and human hunt- with a dry season from November to April and a ing in the Greater Antilles is a topic of consider- rainy season from May to October. The Las Obas able discussion (Fleming and McPhee 1999). site is located in the low-lying southeastern sec- After the demise of the megafauna, Cuba sup- tion of Cuba. Because of Cuba’s size and varied ported no large terrestrial mammals. It has been terrain, there are undoubtedly regional subsis- traditionally assumed that Cuba’s early prehistoric tence variations that we cannot address with this human populations subsisted largely on marine analysis. resources. Here we argue that the subsistence Cuba’s age and isolation, along with its size strategies of the indigenous people of Cuba were (the 16th largest island in the world, and the diverse and included mammals, birds, fish, rep- largest nation in the Caribbean), have resulted in tiles and invertebrates. Although our research fo- unique and diverse flora and fauna. Thanks to cuses on remains from this site, plants evolutionary processes associated with island were surely a major part of the prehistoric human ecology, Pleistocene and early Holocene Cuba had diet on Cuba. unique fauna, such as (MacPhee 1997), the giant estimated to have Cultural Context weighed over 181 kg, and the giant flightless Ornimegalonyx oteroi (Feduccia 1999:294). Al- The earliest human occupation of Cuba may have though much of the was occurred between six and eight thousand years extinct by the time humans arrived on the island, ago (Moure and Rivero de la Calle 1996), with the sloths survived into the middle Holocene initial colonizers of the island arriving from Cen- (MacPhee et al. 2007). The relationship between tral America (Wilson et al. 1998). Some of the ear- Preceramic Faunal Exploitation at the Las Obas Site, Cuba • Colten et al. 77 liest reported radiocarbon dates from Cuba and tures of Cuba. Although he was primarily inter- the Caribbean region in general are 5,000 years ested in artifacts, he used relatively modern field old, or about 3100 BC (Wilson et al. 1998; Wilson methods and collected the faunal material that 2007). The broad stages of Caribbean prehistory makes our current research possible. are described by Keegan (1994:256) as Lithic The Las Obas site is located inland from Man- (4000 to 400 BC), Archaic (2000 to 100 BC) and zanillo on the south shore of a small lake called Ceramic (800 BC to AD 1492). The earliest in- Laguna Las Obas (Figure 1). The site is a shell habitants of Cuba are sometimes called the Ci- midden with a maximum depth of approximately boney (Osgood 1942), although Rouse (1989) and 1 m (Hahn 1961:27). Hahn dug two trenches Keegan (1989) suggest that they should more ap- placed at right angles to each other. Each trench propriately be called the Guanahatabeys. These was subdivided into 2 m by 2 m sections and ex- people were hunter–gatherers with stone and shell cavated in 15 cm arbitrary levels. Most of the units technology who, for the most part, did not make were excavated to a depth of 75 cm, or five levels, pottery (Moure and Rivero de la Calle 1996). The before reaching culturally sterile sand. All the soil earliest sites are dominated by flaked stone tool was screened with one-quarter-inch metal mesh assemblages. Sites dating between 4000 and 2000 and the screen residue was hand-sorted. Hahn re- BP (2000 BC to AD 1) have shell technology, al- tained all bones caught in the screens. though stone tools are still present in some sites. It The vertebrate fauna is a major component of is unclear whether these technological differences the Las Obas collection. If our two samples are are chronological, cultural or related to variation representative of the collection as a whole, there in resource exploitation. Later sites include coastal may be over 150,000 bones from Las Obas in the shell middens. Although recent research suggests collections at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural that these people made a limited amount of pot- History. Although unmodified shell was not col- tery (Keegan 2006), these earlier cultures are often lected completely, representative samples of shell called “preceramic,” because most sites do not taxa and all shell artifacts were retained. The most contain ceramic artifacts. After the arrival of peo- abundant shells in the midden were conch, oyster ple who made pottery and cultivated domesti- and cockle or scallop (Hahn did not provide more cated plants, the descendants of the Ciboney lived precise taxonomic information). While all three in marginal areas. By the time Europeans arrived, of these general invertebrate categories were portions of Cuba were occupied by Taíno people, found throughout the midden, oyster decreased farmers who grew corn and manioc, as well as in comparison to scallop from the bottom to the hunted and fished. They lived in relatively large top of the deposit (Hahn 1961:29). The artifacts villages, some of which had ceremonial centers. and faunal collection are catalogued and curated at the Yale Peabody Museum. Unfortunately, we Hahn’s Research Project do not have any of the associated field documents and Excavations at the Las Obas Site and have been unsuccessful, so far, in locating Hahn or his documents. As part of his dissertation research at Yale Uni- versity, Paul Hahn spent three and a half months Chronology: in 1956 and another three weeks in 1957 visiting Two New Radiocarbon Dates and excavating preceramic archaeological sites in Cuba. Most of his time was spent in the area We selected two shells from Trench A, Section 1, around Manzanillo in what was then Oriente to date the site using radiocarbon analysis. One Province in the southeastern part of the island. shell was taken from the 15 to 30 cm level and an- This area was selected partly on the basis of pre- other from the 45 to 60 cm level of this unit. This vious archaeological studies in the region con- excavation unit is also the source of part of the ducted by Dr. Bernardo Utset Macía (Ustet 1951). faunal sample described here. Both radiocarbon Hahn excavated at three large preceramic sites in samples were single pieces of Melongena melon- the Manzanillo area: Las Obas, Los Caracoles and gena (West Indian conch). Single pieces of shell El Guayabo. Hahn’s research focused on develop- were selected to ensure that they represented sin- ing a relative chronology for the preceramic cul- gle depositions. We choose the second excavation 78 Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50(1) • April 2009

Table . The number of individual specimens (NISP) for fauna, by class, at the Las Obas site, Cuba.

Class NISP NISP (%) NISP NISP (%)

Trench A, Section 1 343 3 343 4 Fish 620 6 620 7 Mammal 6,972 67 6,972 81 Reptile 631 6 631 7 Other vertebrate 1,853 18 Total 10,424 8,565

Trench B, Section 1 Bird 114 2 114 3 Fish 230 4 230 6 Mammal 3,409 64 3,409 83 Reptile 367 7 367 9 Other vertebrate 1,228 23 Total 5,343 4120

Total analyzed Bird 457 3 457 4 Fish 850 5 850 7 Mammal 10,381 66 10,381 82 Reptile 998 6 998 8 Other vertebrate 3,081 20

Total 15,767 12,686 level to avoid historic or disturbed deposits, be- peated use, although Hahn’s discussion of the cause the uppermost level of the site contained a stratigraphy (Hahn 1961: 29-34) indicates the modest amount of domesticated animal bone and possibility of intermittent occupation. Hahn some historical artifacts. placed the Las Obas site in the later part of the The shells were sent to Beta Analytic in preceramic period, which might be considered Miami, Florida, USA, for standard radiometric Archaic in the chronological scheme described analysis. The conventional radiocarbon ages for previously. Both radiocarbon samples are from a the two samples (Beta 214957 and Beta 214958) single excavation unit, so it is possible that there is are 2020 ± 50 BP and 1910 ± 50 BP, respectively. chronological variability across the site. The radiocarbon ages intercept the calibration curve at AD 380 and AD 490. The dates overlap in Methods of Analysis the 2-sigma range (AD 250 to 470 and AD 390 to 610), suggesting that the samples are statistically In the spring of 2003 we examined the Caribbean the same age. These radiocarbon dates from shells faunal remains in the collections of the Yale Pea- could differ from calendar dates because of the body Museum to determine their research poten- marine reservoir effect (Ascough et al. 2005). The tial and to identify projects of interest to students known Delta R values for the Caribbean suggest and other scholars. While many of the Caribbean that the corrected dates might only be about 50 collections did not contain catalog entries for fau- years older if the marine reservoir effect is taken nal remains, we were able to identify Hahn’s col- into account (Broeker and Olson 1961; Lightly et lection as a likely candidate for analysis, because of al. 1982). The site could represent a single occu- more complete cataloguing. The catalog listed pation rather than a location with long-term, re- “bone” and “plant and animal remains,” though it Preceramic Faunal Exploitation at the Las Obas Site, Cuba • Colten et al. 79 gave us no information about the size or compo- Table . The minimum number of individuals sition of the excavated items. (MNI) for hutia at the Las Obas site, Cuba. Hahn collected massive amounts of faunal re- Trench A-1 mains from his excavations. Single catalog entries may represent thousands of bones and bone frag- Level (cm) MNI MNI (%) ments. Given the size of the collection, we decided to analyze bones from one 2 m section from each 0–15 65 14 of Hahn’s two excavated trenches from the site of 15–30 125 28 Las Obas. The units we selected were Trench A, 30–45 187 41 Section 1, and Trench B, Section 1. This, we 45–60 69 15 hoped, would allow us to see variability in the 60–75 5 1 composition of the large midden. Hahn also col- Total 451 lected many bones from the El Guayabo (Barrio La Sal, Bayamo), Vega del Palmar (Barrio Gua- Trench B-1 naroca, Cienfuegos) and Los Caracoles (Barrio Palo Seco, Manzanillo) sites. Level (cm) MNI MNI (%) Note that Las Obas is a shell midden and only a very limited sample of the shell was collected. 0–15 12 4 As a result, our quantified analysis is only of ver- 15–30 68 24 tebrate remains and we cannot discuss the relative 30–45 129 46 importance of shellfish and vertebrates in the fau- 45–60 62 22 nal record. Furthermore, Hahn’s use of one-quar- 60–75 10 4 ter-inch mesh likely biased the sample against small bones, notably fish remains, which are prob- Total 281 ably underrepresented in these samples. In spite of these biases, this research provides insight into the fish comprised 5% of the total collection, with the diet of the indigenous peoples of Cuba, as well 850 specimens identified. Finally, birds made up as prehistoric biogeography, and therefore merits the smallest segment of the collection, with 457 further discussion. identified specimens, only 3% of the total num- In the initial stage of analysis we rough-sorted ber of identified specimens. Although this is a re- the bones into mammal, bird, fish and reptile cat- spectable sample that represents most of the egories. The bones that could not be identified taxonomic variability in the collection, a quick with certainty to a class were grouped into a fifth survey of bones from other units from Las Obas “other—unidentifiable” category. During this suggests that other types of , notably man- process it became apparent that a very large per- atee and perhaps other species of birds and fish, centage of the bones were mammal bones. We were recovered from the site. further sorted the bones by skeletal element so By far most unidentified specimens are mam- that we could estimate the minimum number of malian, although they could not be assigned to a individuals (MNI). specific taxonomic category with certainty. With- out the unidentified bones, mammals are 82% of the identified specimens. Bird and fish remains contributed 4% and 7%, respectively, and reptiles Of the 15,767 examined bones, 10,381 or 66% be- make up 9% of the identified bones. longed to mammals (Table 1). The unidentified remains were the next most common grouping Mammal Remains with 3,081 bones and bone fragments, represent- ing 20% of the collection. Birds, fish and reptiles The mammal bones seem to be nearly exclusively each contributed less than 10% of the whole. Rep- from a single species. By consulting publications tiles were the largest group, with 998 identified on Cuban archaeological fauna (Pino 1970; Cór- specimens (6%), most of which were turtle shell dova and Arredondo 1988) and Caribbean mam- (carapace) fragments. Following closely behind, mals, we determined that these animals belonged 80 Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50(1) • April 2009

Table . Vertebrate fauna from two trenches at the Las Obas site, Cuba, with counts for the minimum num- ber of individuals (MNI) and the number of individual specimens (NISP).

Class Taxon Common name MNI NISP NISP totals

Birds Anas discors Blue-winged Teal 3 5 Anatidae Ducks and geese 19 Aredidae Herons, egrets, and bitterns 1 1 Dendrocygna bicolor Fulvous Whistling-Duck 10 22 Eudocimus albus White Ibis 1 1 Fulica americana American Coot 2 5 Gallinula chloropus Common Moorhen 23 68 Himantopus mexicanus Black-necked Stilt 1 1 Mycteria americana Wood Stork 1 1 Sterna sp. Terns 1 1 Undifferentiated 333 Total birds 457

Fishes Albula vulpes Bonefish 2 2 Caranx sp. Jacks 19 64 Centropomus sp. Snooks 27 135 Chondichthyes Sharks 1 2 Conodon sp. Barred grunts 18 24 Epinephelus cf. morio Red grouper 1 1 Epinephalus sp. Groupers 4 5 Haemulon sp. Grunts 27 54 Lutjanus sp. Tropical snappers 13 19 Megalops atlanticus Tarpon 6 7 Mugil curema White Mullet 6 10 Osteichthyes Bony fishes 526 Rajiformes Skates 1 1 Total fishes 850

Mammals Bos taurus Domestic cow 4 Capromyidae Hutias 732 9,987 Large 3 Small 69 Unidentified 318 Total mammals 10,381

Reptiles Lacertilla Lizards 4 7 Serpentes Snakes 2 25 Testudines Tortoises and turtles 24 966 Total reptiles 998

Vertebrate Unidentified 3,081 Total unidentified 3,081

Total 15,767 15,767 Preceramic Faunal Exploitation at the Las Obas Site, Cuba • Colten et al. 81 to the Capromyidae, or hutias, a family of large Table . Total Osteichthyes identified to genus from rodents. After the Pleistocene extinction, the the Las Obas site, Cuba, with percentages and counts hutias were the largest terrestrial mammals in for the minimum number of individuals (MNI) and Cuba. Some scholars believe that hutias were the number of individual specimens (NISP). brought to the Caribbean islands by the early Identified MNI NISP human colonizers, perhaps from Central Amer- Osteichthyes MNI % NISP % ica (Clough 1972), although more recent genetic analysis suggests that their origin pre-dates the ar- Centropomus sp. 27 22.13 135 42.10 rival of humans on the islands (Woods et al. 2001). Caranx sp. 19 15.57 64 19.94 There were at least 7 (Díaz-Franco 2001) and per- Lutjanus sp. 13 10.66 19 5.91 haps as many as 24 distinct species of hutia on Haemulon sp 27 22.13 54 16.82 Cuba in the past, although most species are now Conodon sp. 18 14.75 24 7.48 extinct (S. Turvey, pers. comm. 2008). Albula vulpes 2 1.64 2 0.62 Interestingly, the hutia may have been captive Epinephalus sp. 4 3.28 6 1.87 bred or domesticated—the individuals were al- Mugil curema 6 4.92 10 3.12 most exclusively subadults when they were killed Megalops atlanticus 6 4.92 7 2.18 and eaten. Virtually all of the major limb elements have unfused epiphyses. Although we have yet to complete any osteometric or rigorous morpho- gesting that they are intrusive and not necessarily logical analysis of the hutia remains, they are the food remains of the site’s prehistoric inhabitants. nearly exclusively one species, with a few individ- uals of a larger species present. Ongoing analysis Bird Remains of the teeth and mandibles should allow us to identify the species. Most of the identified bird bones are from species MNI was calculated by counting the most that live near freshwater or coastal marine habi- abundant, complete, sided element for mammals, tats, not surprising given the location of the site birds, fish and reptiles. In Section 1, Trench A, we near a small lake and the relative proximity of the identified over 450 individual hutias (Table 2). In coast (the bird bones were identified using the os- Trench B, although the total numbers of bones teological collections of the Division of Vertebrate identified was very much lower, we still identified Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum). The most 281 hutia individuals. As one might expect, the abundant birds in the collection are the Common MNI is highest in the center levels where preser- Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and various types vation is best, with 187 individuals in the 30 to 45 of ducks (Table 3). There are single individuals of cm level of Trench A, over 40% of the total MNI the Aredidae (possibly Great Blue Heron), White in this section. The distribution of numbers of in- Ibis (Eudocimus albus), Black-necked Stilt (Hi- dividuals in each level mirrors the distribution of mantopus mexicanus), Wood Stork (Himantopus number of identified specimens from each level, mexicanus) and a tern (Sterna sp.), probably a indicating that the relative importance of the Least Tern. The Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Den- hutias was consistent throughout the deposit. drocygna bicolor) is the most common of the These MNI calculations are based on tibiae and ducks identified at Las Obas, although other femora, so it is unlikely that combining the levels bones that were quite similar might be the West into a single analytical unit would substantially Indian Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna arborea). change the total MNI. When calculated as MNI, Smaller ducks, notably Blue-winged Teal (Anas hutia are by far the most abundant animals in the discors), were also identified. The bird remains in- vertebrate assemblage. clude a fair number of relatively complete bones The other mammal bones include a few teeth that could not be positively identified with the of modern cow, all found in the uppermost exca- comparative collection available at the Yale Pea- vation level, and several bones of a different small body Museum, but might be identified using a mammal, possibly the spiny rat, probably of the collection that contains more skeletons of Carib- genus Boromys (Cuban spiny rats). These bones bean birds. were also found primarily in the upper levels, sug- The Common Moorhen lives near freshwater 82 Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50(1) • April 2009 lakes and brackish ponds, as does the American essarily restricted to these habitats, they are most Coot (Garrido and Kirkconnell 2000). The Ful- commonly found in them (Wing 1989; Smith vous Whistling-Duck lives near lagoons. The 1997). Most of the identified species are found in Blue-winged Teal occupies lakes and lagoons. The estuarine and inshore waters; these include: snook Great Blue Heron is found near the shore or tidal (Centropomus sp.), bonefish (Albula vulpes), flats. The White Ibis frequents muddy shores, white mullet (Mugil curema), jack (Caranx sp.) swamps, flooded fields and lagoons. The Least and tarpon (Megalops atlanticus). Tern lives near open water and sandy cays. The Snook and jack were two of the most com- Black-necked Stilt lives near either fresh or salt mon species encountered in the sample. Snooks water. The Wood Stork inhabits mangroves and generally inhabit coastal waters, along with estu- brackish lagoons. The presence of these animals aries and lagoons. They will also penetrate fresh probably indicates a generalized hunting and water occasionally (Wing 1991; Smith 1997). Both gathering economy focused on nearby freshwater large and small snook bones were found, showing and coastal habitats. little restriction on the size of fishes caught. Wing (1991:137) states that snook can be caught with Fish Remains cast nets. Jacks are solitary or can occur in schools, inhabit various environments, depending on both The fish remains recovered from the Las Obas site the species and the life stage of the individual, and include both bony and cartilaginous fishes. The can be found in open water, reef, estuarine and fish bones were rough-sorted into broad taxo- freshwater environments. nomic categories and identified to genus and Coral reefs are well known for supporting species when possible. For identification we used large varieties of species. Four types of fishes iden- the Zoological Comparative Collections housed tified from this assemblage are known to regularly at the US National Park Service Southeast Arche- inhabit reefs. These are grunts (Haemulon sp. and ological Center in Tallahassee, Florida, and at the Conodon sp.), snappers (Lutjanus sp.) and Florida State University Department of Anthro- groupers (Epinephalus sp.). Wing (1989:142) sug- pology. We determined MNI and the number of gests that when these species are present in an as- individual specimens (NISP) for all identified fish. semblage it is almost assured that this habitat was For the MNI we used the most abundant diag- exploited by native peoples. Grunts are some of nostic element from each taxon; if there were the most common species in the West Indies and paired elements (left and right), we used the side are among the most prevalent species encoun- with the highest count (Reitz and Wing 1999). tered in this sample (see Table 4). Any differences in size were also taken into ac- The diversity of fish taxa in the assemblage count for MNI, if appropriate. No evidence of and the differing habitats they represent suggest butchering or thermal alteration was found that a variety of methods were used to catch fish. among the fish bones. Jacks are commonly caught with hook and line, The total fish sample consists of 850 bone but traps or nets may have also been used. Grunts fragments. Nearly 40% (321 bones, or 37.76%) of could likely also be caught by hook and line and the fish bones were identified to genus or species; with traps. Snappers and grouper were not as however, more than 60% (529 bones, or 62.23%) prevalent in the sample; these species could likely of the bones remained unidentified, either be- be caught with hook and line. cause of their fragmentary nature or because they Bonefish was identified by only two verte- lacked diagnostic features. Bony fish made up the brae (see Table 4). This species could be bulk of the assemblage (Table 4). In addition, two caught either by nets or hook and line. White shark vertebra (Chondrichthyes) and a ray spine mullet occur in schools and inhabit estuarine (Rajiformes) were also identified. Five species and and fresh water. These fish are generally six genera of fishes were identified from the Las caught by trimmel nets, gill nets, or seines. Obas assemblage. Tarpon, like the other species mentioned, tend The identified species tend to occur in two dif- to inhabit estuarine, inshore waters, as well as ferent habitats: coral reefs, and inshore estuarine brackish marsh and fresh water. Tarpon are and tidal flats. Although these species are not nec- today generally caught with hook and line. Preceramic Faunal Exploitation at the Las Obas Site, Cuba • Colten et al. 83

Reptile Remains the people who inhabited the Las Obas site may have been doing just this. In other words, the hutia Turtle bones are the most abundant of the reptile may have been breed in captivity or domesticated, remains in the faunal samples from the Las Obas although there are other potential patterns of ex- site, partly due to the abundance of elements ploitation (Wilkins 2001). While evaluation of this from the carapace, but also because there are proposition requires further research, there is more individual turtles in the assemblage than some indication from other Caribbean locations that snakes or lizards. There are least 24 turtles in the hutias may have been domesticated (Garner 2002). samples, based on the limb elements. The turtles Other archaeological sites on Cuba (Pino 1970; Cór- are exclusively a type of slider, most likely the North dova and Arredondo 1988) and Jamaica (Wilkins Antillean Slider (Trachemys decussata), the only 2001) also contain large numbers of hutia bones, member of this genus in the region today. so Las Obas is not unique. Newsom and Wing There are three types of iquanid lizards in the (2004:162) state that the hutia (Isolobodon por- collection, one the size of Cyclura nubila nubila, toricensis) is the most widespread managed animal the Cuban Iguana, and one each of the genera in the Greater Antilles in archaeological assem- Chamaeleolis and Anolis. There are at least four in- blages. dividual lizards represented in our samples, two of Finally, we would like to emphasize the im- which are probably iguana. Of the two types of portance and research potential of museum col- snakes represented in the collection, one is a lections, particularly those that contain faunal re- “boid,” perhaps Epicrates angulifer, the Cuban Boa, mains or other materials that can be studied with and the other a smaller colubrid snake. All of the modern analytical approaches. Faunal remains have snake remains are vertebrae, so we have not tried the potential to provide information on human ecol- to estimate the number of individuals represent- ogy, biogeography and prehistoric climate. Cuba has ed in our samples. been inaccessible for many of us since Hahn’s ex- cavations in the 1950s. The collections curated at Discussion the Yale Peabody Museum have made our research on prehistoric human adaptations possible. Our study of the vertebrate fauna from Hahn’s Las Obas excavations allows us to say several things. Acknowledgments First and most basically, the two new radiocarbon dates provide improved chronological control for Several individuals and organizations assisted these collections and the preceramic period in with this project. Greg Dietl identified the shells Cuba in general. Second, these data indicate that, that were submitted for radiocarbon analysis. rather then relying exclusively on gathered ma- Jacques Gauthier helped identify the snake and rine resources, the people of the Cuban preceramic lizard remains. Walter Joyce identified the turtle had a varied diet that included fishes from several bones. Storrs Olson helped identify some of the habitats, birds, reptiles and, most notably, hutia in bird bones from digital images and provided large numbers. The habitats represented by fauna many suggestions on references to Caribbean avi- in the collection suggest generalized hunting and fauna. Samuel Turvey provided advice on the tax- fishing in the area around the adjacent lake and the onomy and identification of Caribbean rodents. nearby coast. Greg Watkins-Colwell and Kristof Zyskowski The consumption of so many hutias indicates helped with the identifications of bird bones and the possibility of a sophisticated resource man- herpetological fauna. Meredith Hardy and An- agement system. Hutias have a notoriously low re- drew Hill also contributed to this project in a va- productive rate. If left to their own devices, some riety of ways. Comments by Elizabeth Reitz and species will produce a maximum of two young a two anonymous reviewers helped clarify the year. Modern conservationists have discovered that paper. We are also grateful to Larry Gall and Rose- removing the young from a pair of adult hutias al- mary Volpe for their editorial contributions. lows the pair to produce additional young. The pat- tern of consumption of subadults that we see in the Received 30 May 2008; revised and accepted 25 faunal remains from this collection indicates that December 2008. 84 Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50(1) • April 2009

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