“This means, for example, that there is considerable lack of consistency in naming(labeling), and that often the beginning and end points of different periods only partially overlap”( Sanabria, 53).
This is a description of the challenges in archeology due to the lack of a common approach in archeology and the failure to adopt common terminologies that can be used universally. The lack of consistency is also occasioned by the fact that archeology examines a process of change over a period of time and not a single event. This statement shows the challenge I describing pre-European Caribbean culture while also addressing possible differences from other studies.
“Paleo-Indian appear to have adapted to seasonal humid tropical habitat by broad spectrum hunting and collecting” (Sanabria, 54).
This statement explains the shift in the cultural practices of the Paleo-Indians; from their initial maritime coastal adaptation. This adaptation therefore, widens the scope when examining their entry point into America. It also expands their territorial existence and creates a blend with other communities in this region.
“The Archaic period, between 11, 000 and 35,000 years ago broadly corresponds in the Andes to the middle to The Late of Preceramic , and in the Mesoamerica to the incipient Agricultural phase”(Qtd. in Sanabria, 55).
The sentence presents a long phase in the history of the Caribbeans and describes the earliest archeological sites in this area. The period in which major transformations occurred such as, the emergence of sedentary lifestyles, major population growth, increase in resources, the start of agriculture, plant rearing, and the beginning of a governance system. This is therefore one of the periods with significant developments.
“An important characteristic of the 13000 years of the Horizon period is the presence of large-scale regional states that achieved control of over far-flung regions, and over numerous ethnic polities”( Sanabria, 66).
This sentence is important as it introduces the occurrence of major conflicts in these societies. Conflicts led to takeovers by other communities. As a result of this, some communities disappeared. Conflicts also led to intermingling and adoption of foreign culture from the communities that came into contact during conflicts. Archeology has to separate the lives before and after conflicts.
“What is known about the social cultural and the political world of the Andes and Mesoamerica a century prior to the European conquest stems mainly from the ethnohistorical sources”(Sanabria, 66).
This sentence adds value to the possible sources of information on the pre-European era. Ethnohistorcal sources present stories and opinions of the society members during the period, often with a bias hence the need to examine the source of the information and the purpose for which it was written. Such sources, however, do reveal intimate details of the cultural organization of a group, often beyond what other sources would reveal.
Works Cited
Sanabria, Harry. The Anthropology Of Latin America And The Caribbean. Print.
