Bite-sized history: a metric and non-metric dental trait analysis of pre-colonial Indigenous populations in the Greater Antilles

Abstract

Recent analyses suggest a greater diversity existed among the earliest Indigenous inhabitants of the Greater Antilles than previously thought. The pre-colonial period is broadly conceptualized into two successive chronological periods, the Archaic Age and Ceramic Age. Previous research identified biological differences between Archaic Age and Late Ceramic Age groups; however, these findings were impacted by small sample sizes and methodological issues. Further, the analysis of variation within Archaic Age and Ceramic Age populations has received less attention. This study aimed to broaden understandings of the biological relationships between groups from different time periods, islands, and cultural horizons in the Greater Antilles. To infer biological distances, metric and non-metric dental traits were compared between four Archaic Age and six Ceramic Age sites. The first statistical approach involved analyzing the metric and non-metric dental traits through separate analyses. The second statistical approach combined the data types into a single analysis using the novel FLEXDIST software tool, representing the first implementation of this method in a Caribbean context. Distinct variability was found between the cemeteries of Canímar Abajo, and low general biological diversity among the later Archaic Age groups. Significant differences were observed among the coeval sites at the end of the Late Ceramic Age; however, Ceramic Age groups from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic generally shared strong biological affinity. Patterns of biological continuity were seen throughout the pre-colonial period between the Archaic Age groups from Cuba with the Ceramic Age groups from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Significant differences between Archaic Age and Ceramic Age groups in Cuba suggests diverse groups cohabitated on the island. This research adds to previous knowledge about the diverse peoples and cultures present in the pre-colonial and early colonial Caribbean and the complex interaction webs they built over thousands of years.