ARCHEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN AND WESTERN CARIBBEAN: PROGRESS, CHALLENGES AND CONNECTIONS

Guest editor:

• Wilhelm Londoño Díaz, University of Magdalena, Colombia
• Anthropologist, teacher and researcher at the University of Magdalena. Contributes to the teaching of archaeology and the study of the heritage of indigenous peoples in Northern Colombia.

This call is open for articles in Spanish and English resulting from research within the frameworks of archaeology, history and anthropology, which take the Eastern or Western Caribbean as their focus, a territory referred to as the “Intermediate Area” or “Circum-Caribbean Area” in specialized literature (Hoopes, 2004; Lange, 2004). Making a sweep through the specialized literature, we can find discussions about the settlement of the Antilles evoking the issue of the distribution of societies related with the Arawak languages. The same happens in the western fringe, where several academics ranging from linguists, through anthropologists and archaeologists, have wondered on the distribution of societies using languages of Chibcha origin (Falchetti, 1993; Constenla, 1995). However, these disciplinary agendas have not been fully developed, evidenced in the lack of literature about societal interactions within the Caribbean. Almost two decades ago, Callaghan and Bray (2007), simulated the contact mechanisms in the western strip between Colombia and Costa Rica, and even hinted at the materialities exchanged there, but little more is known about these materialities associated in those interactions, let alone about their motivations. The same occurs on the Antillean side, where there are discussions about settlement models and mechanisms, but understanding of regional ideologies is lacking (Giovas and Fitzpatrick, 2014).

In this sense, research that addresses interactions within the Caribbean in pre-Hispanic, colonial, or modern times, and considers native, mestizo, Raizal, or Creole societies as focal points is sought after. Thinking about regional data from a perspective of interconnectedness that transcends representations of the past based on influences from nineteenth-century national histories is encouraged. This archaeological perspective does not dismiss the role of local communities in strengthening the colonial and republican infrastructures, since for example, it was indigenous peoples with their navigation systems, who allowed access to the largest ships, which consolidated trade among the Intermediate area and the rest of the globe in the 16th century. Likewise, it was indigenous navigators who allowed expansion to inland territories after settlements in enclaves such as Santa Marta, were founded in Colombia.

Undoubtedly, research of the Caribbean from the historical and anthropological perspectives, is a niche for contributing to a theory of Caribbean archeology favoring questions about interconnectedness and exchange, and not only about settlement or hierarchies, which are so close to current paradigmatic science.

Deadline for manuscript reception for this number is until JANUARY 30, 2023.

The articles submitted for consideration must be original and unpublished, and must comply with the editorial standards of the journal, which can be found here:

https://revistas.unimagdalena.edu.co/index.php/jangwapana/g_autores

For more information you can contact us by email at: jangwapana@unimagdalena.edu.co

Journal’s website at: https://revistas.unimagdalena.edu.co/index.php/jangwapana/issue/archive

 

References

Callaghan, R. T., & Bray, W. (2007). Simulating prehistoric sea contacts between Costa Rica and Colombia. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2(1), 4-23.

Contenla, A. (1995). Sobre el estudio diacrónico de las lenguas chibchenses y su contribución al conocimiento del pasado de sus hablantes. Boletín Museo del Oro, 38-39.

Falchetti, A. M. (1993). La tierra del oro y el cobre. Museo del Oro, (34-35).

Giovas, C. M., & Fitzpatrick, S. M. (2014). Prehistoric migration in the Caribbean: past perspectives, new models and the ideal free distribution of West Indian colonization. World Archaeology, 46(4), 569-589.

Hoopes, J. W. (2004). Atravesando fronteras y explorando la iconografía sagrada de los antiguos Chibchas en Centroamérica Meridional y Colombia Septentrional. Arqueología del Área Intermedia, 6, 129-166.

Lange, Frederick (2004). Gordon R. Willey y el Área Intermedia: concepto, contribuciones y perspectivas. En: Revista del Área Intermedia. No. 6, pp: 27-50.