EXCAVATIONS AT LO-9, MUNICIPALITY OF LOÍZA, PUERTO RICO: A SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Michele Helene Hayward, Ph.D. and

Michael Anthony Cinquino, Ph.D.

❐ ABSTRACTIn 1998, Panamerican Consultants, Inc. conducted an intensive level excavation at Site LO-9, located along thenorth coast of Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Loíza. The site represents primarily a Late Ceramic Period sett-lement, or Phases IIIa and IIIb, A.D. 600 to 1200. Research issues concerning LO-9’s location, occupational his-tory, subsistence base and ceramic sequence were formulated before and during the excavation phase of the pro-ject. This paper focuses on: 1) outlining the results of the stratigraphic, radiocarbon dating, faunal, and artifactdata analyses, and 2) discussing their utility in addressing the posited research questions.

Resumen En el año de 1998, la compañía Panamerican Consultants, Inc. llevó a cabo una investigación arqueológica inten-siva al Sitio LO-9. El yacimiento esta localizado á lo largo de la costa norte de Puerto Rico, en el municipio deLoíza. La occupación al sitio queda primariamente durante el Periodo Ceramica Tarde, ó los Periodos IIIa y IIIb,A.D. 600 a 1200. Áreas de investigación tocando la localizaión física, la duración de occupación, la base subsis-tencia y la sequencia ceramica del yacimiemto LO-9, fueron desarollado antes y durante la fase del trabajo delcampo del proyecto. El enfoque de esta ponencia envuelve lo sigiente: 1) delinear los resultados de los análysesestratigráfico, carbono catorce, fauna, y material cultural, y 2) discutir la utilidad de estos resultados para la exa-minación de las áreas de investigación.

RésuméDans l’année 1998, la compagnie Panamerican Consultants, Inc. a conduit une fouille intensive au site LO-9,qui est situé le long du côte nord de Puerto-Rico, dans la municipalité de Loiza. Le site est une représentationprincipalement de la période céramique ancienne ou les périodes Illa et Ilb d’année 600 à 1200 ap. J.-C.. Lesrecherches concernant le site LO-9, l’histoire de son occupation, les séquences céramiques ont été analysées avantet pendant la phase de fouille. Cette communication présente : 1°) Un sommaire des résultats de l'étude strati-graphique, datation C14, la faune et une analyse des donnés des objets fabriqués et 2°) une discussion de l’utili-té de ces données et sur le point de la recherche.

❐ INTRODUCTION

Panamerican Consultants, Inc., under the direction of Dr. Michele H. Hayward and Dr. Michael A.Cinquino, undertook an intensive level investigation of archaeological Site LO-9. This prehistoric sett-lement is located along the north coast of Puerto Rico, in the Piñones area of the municipality of Loíza(Figure 1). LO-9 is included in the Piñones National Register District and listed in the NationalRegister of Historic Places as a contributing element to the district (Meléndez Maíz 1995b). The studywas conducted for the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The construction of Highway 187 has significantly reduced the extent of the site, with clear indi-cations of the site’s presence on only the north or ocean side of the road (Rodríguez López 1979; VélezVélez 1989; Meléndez Maíz 1995a, 1995b; Questell Rodríguez and Figueroa Sellas 1995) (Figure 2). ThePuerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority will sponsor three types of construction activitiesthat will impact the site to varying degrees, including: improvements to Highway 187 affecting thesouthern edge of the site within the project area, a bike path impacting the center portion, and a stonerevetment or breakwall affecting the northern limit of LO-9.

Four previous professional studies have been conducted at the site by: Rodríguez López in 1979,Vélez Vélez in 1989, Meléndez Maíz in 1995, and Questell Rodríguez and Figueroa Sellas in 1995.

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Rodríguez López filled out the site form for the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture’s site registry. VélezVélez included LO-9 in his intensive survey effort for sites within the Piñones Special Planning Areawhich encompassed the beach and immediate interior lowlands (e.g., shoreline, mangroves, islets andhills) from Punta Cangrejos eastward to the Río Grande de Loíza. Questell Rodríguez and FigueroaSellas conducted limited surface and subsurface testing at the site in relation to proposed bike andpedestrian pathways to be placed primarily alongside Highway 187, also from Punta Cangrejos east-ward to the Loíza River. Meléndez Maíz undertook the most extensive investigation of LO-9 as partof the Puerto Rican State Historic Preservation Office’s effort to nominate the Piñones region to theNational Register of Historic Places.

Our research comprised a review of environmental and archaeological background information;field excavation; the development of a research design; the analysis of stratigraphic profiles, radiocar-bon dates, artifacts and faunal remains, followed by a synthesis of the various data sets. In this paperwe will focus on outlining the research questions, presenting a summary of the analyses of the data,and discussing their utility in addressing the stated issues.

❐ RESEARCH ISSUES

The first research issue concerns Chronological Placement, i.e., the identification of the ordered orsequential change in the material culture at Site LO-9. We began by first delineating the complex ofartifact traits specific to LO-9 and then comparing them to other documented site sequences within thearea and to formal models. Our comparative base includes studies of Medianía Alta LO-23 andVieques LO-22 (Grossman and Associates, Inc. 1990). We employ Rouse’s 1992 formal chronologicalmodel, as amended by Oliver 1993, Rouse and Faber Morse 1995 and Faber Morse 1995. Three of thefour previous studies at the site have identified three ceramic styles at LO-9: Santa Elena (RodríguezLópez 1979; Vélez Vélez 1989), Early Ostiones, and Late Cuevas/Very Early Ostionoid (Meléndez Maíz1995a:3, 1-29; 1995b:Section 7:10). Our expectation is that the described cultural material assemblageat LO-9 will be similar enough to other described sequences and Rouse’s formal model to be placedwithin the larger established Puerto Rican-wide time-space framework, yet different enough to defineits own local, individual cultural developmental strategy.

The second research issue touches on the nature of Stylistic and Local Cultural Boundaries. Thetentative identification of a Late Cuevas, Early Ostiones, and Santa Elena ceramic style sequence raisesthe issue of the nature of local cultural boundaries within Puerto Rico. Rouse’s model, and former stu-dies in general, suggest that by the beginning of the Ostionoid series around A.D. 600, ceramic pro-duction has become regionalized to the extent that Eastern Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands form anElenan Ostionoid Subseries, while Western Puerto Rico constitutes an Ostionian Ostionoid Subseries(Rouse 1992). Although the boundary is imprecise, we place it just east of Ponce on the south coast andmidway between Arecibo and Vega Baja on the north coast (Curet 1992:58, Figure 3; Rouse1992:107,123; Oliver 1993). The presence of an Early Ostiones component, characteristic of westernPuerto Rico rather than the presumed Monserrate style typical of eastern Puerto Rico, requires a reexa-mination of this boundary and its nature.

The third research issue relates to Settlement and Subsistence Patterns. The position of LO-9 bet-ween the ocean and a mangrove swamp (today as well as in the prehistoric past) would have presen-ted the inhabitants with a number of habitats to exploit. Fishes and shellfish from the shallow watersoffshore, crabs from the mangroves and agricultural products from nearby or fields farther inland areamong the possible exploitable foodstuffs. Our expectation is that the faunal remains and any otherindicators of food gathering or producing activities at the site will suggest a subsistence strategy com-prising: 1) a wide variety of foodstuffs, but with emphasis on the most readily available resources; 2)a shifting pattern through time, and 3) one that is distinct from other nearby settlements reflecting thevariety and density of resources specific to LO-9’s physical environment.

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❐ EXCAVATION UNITS AND GENERAL STRATIGRAPHY

The field methodology included the excavation of a series of 10-meter interval shovel tests andfour units within the project area (Figure 2). The material recovered, and the stratigraphic layeringfrom the shovel tests, allowed the delimiting of the east/west boundaries and the northern or oceanside of the site. We also inferred from the initial data base a subarea of especially high concentrationof ceramics and faunal material. Diverse criteria affected the placement of the excavation units, but theoverall goal was to position the units uniformly throughout this subarea of high artifact concentrationthat fell within the project area boundaries. Since we were unable to sample from the entire site, it isundemonstrated what portion of the site we have selected from. We suggest, though, that the subarearepresents a midden or dense refuse zone. Units 1 and 2 measured 1-x-2 meters, while Units 3 and 4measured 2-x-2 meters. All of the units were subdivided into 1-x-1 meter quadrants and 10-cm levelswithin strata for individual excavation.

The natural and cultural stratigraphy from all of the shovel tests and units, with minor exceptions,demonstrates a four-fold sequence. Stratum 1 represents a very loose brown to brownish yellow coar-se sand layer, 15 to 30 cm wide. Stratum 2 consists of a band of loose, yellowish brown coarse sand 30to 180 cm deep. Stratum 3 comprises loose to compact, brown to grayish brown to gray coarse sandysoil. Very loose, yellow coarse sand makes up Stratum 4. Strata 1, 2 and 4 cover the entire portion ofthe site examined for this investigation. Stratum 3 is more limited in extent and contains a highconcentration of exclusively prehistoric material. A low density of modern and prehistoric materialcan be found in Strata 1 and 2. The amount of modern material decreases from the first to the secondhorizon, while the prehistoric material increases in concentration. No cultural material, except by mix-ture with Stratum 3, was noted for Stratum 4.

❐ RADIOCARBON DATING RESULTS

Four West Indian Pointed Venus clam shell (Anomalocardia brasiliana) sample assemblages weresent to Beta Analytic, Inc. for radiocarbon dating purposes (Table 1). Part of the rationale for selectingthe shells involved the opportunity to bracket the occupational phase or phases at LO-9 in the absen-ce of any other material (such as charcoal) that was recovered in sufficient quantity or with an establi-shed associative context. All four samples were taken from the heavy-artifact bearing Stratum 3—twofrom the uppermost levels and two from among the lower levels of Units 2 and 3.

Beta Analytic converted the conventional radiocarbon dates to calender dates based on marineand fresh water scenarios because the 13C to 12C ratios suggested the presence of fresh water, eventhough these clam shells are normally considered as marine in origin. Specific past environmentalconditions are unknown at the site, but its position along the coast would certainly have included thepossibility of areas of fresh and marine water mixture—estuaries, mangroves and shallow coastalwaters.

The calibrated calendrical age ranges (within two sigmas, 95 percent probability), assuming amarine habitat, register from A.D. 1105 to 1475 with their median ages ranging from A.D. 1213 to 1390.These dates encompass the latter half of the second phase and the entire third phase of the LateCeramic Period, associated with the Ostionoid ceramic styles of Santa Elena/Late Ostiones andEsperanza/Capa as defined by Rouse (1952, 1992). The date ranges—assuming a fresh water envi-ronment—calculate from A.D. 695 to 1215, with a median age range of A.D. 845 to 1098. These earlierdates place occupation at the site during most of the first phase and again the second phase of the LateCeramic Period, adding in the Monserrate or Early Ostiones styles. We suggest that the results indi-cate the presence of at least two occupational phases at LO-9, regardless of which one of the environ-mental scenarios one chooses.

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❐ FAUNAL RESULTS

The analysis of the faunal remains from Site LO-9 was conducted by Ms. Yvonne Narganes Stordeat the University of Puerto Rico. She examined a total of 22,727 vertebrate and invertebrate elementsfrom both quadrants of Unit 2 and Quadrants C and D only of Unit 3 (Table 2). The vertebrate remainsconsist of one bird bone from the family Ardeidae, while the invertebrate material comprises 22,670mollusks and 56 crustacean.

The invertebrate remains in the site’s sample account for 99.995 percent of the total count, with thevertebrate bird bone making up the remainder of .004 percent. Slightly higher percentages of the totalsfor the bird bone are obtained, .01 percent, when the MNI or Minimum Number of Individuals and thebiomass figures are considered. Sixty-seven species of mollusks were identified and of those thebivalves comprise the largest subgroup. Their order of numerical importance begins with the WestIndian Pointed Venus clam shell (Anomalocardia brasiliana) with 76.94 percent of the total molluskcount, followed by the Caribbean oyster (Crassostrea rhizophorae) with 7.38 percent. Other mollusktaxa with significant percentages in the sample include: the Spotted Nerite (Neritina punctulata), 2.98percent; the Checkered Nerite (Nerita tessellata), 2.49 percent; the Virgin Nerite (Neritina virginea),2.26 percent; the Scorched Mussel (Brachydontes exustus), 2.07 percent; the Jamaica Lucine (Lucinapectinatus), 1.65 percent; the False Mussel (Mytilopsis dominguensis), 1.11 percent; and the MagpieShell (Cittarium pica), 0.75 percent. The remaining mollusk taxa account for minor percentages of thetotal count.

The 56 crustacean remains make up 0.25 percent of the total count, 0.22 percent of the total MNIcount and 2.35 percent of the total estimated biomass. The crab, Callinects sp., accounts for the majo-rity of the remains followed by the mangrove variety, Cardisoma guanhumi.

❐ CERAMIC ANALYSIS RESULTS

A total of 18,286 ceramic sherds were recovered from all of the shovel tests and the four units atLO-9. The units produced 15,498 sherds containing a variety of plain and decorated rim, body andbase fragments. A very low frequency of possible griddle body sherds (27 or 0.2 percent) were identi-fied in the sample. All are undecorated and possess one rough side with a smoother finished surfaceon the opposite side of the fragment. Their identification remains tentative since the sherds could alsorepresent fragments from large, less well-made vessels.

Undecorated ceramics account for the majority of the unit sample—15,313 or 98.81 percent. Ofthese the plain body sherds make up the single highest category with13,292 or 85.77 percent. The 1,922plain rim sherds represent 12.4 percent of the total assemblage.

The undecorated base fragments from the units number 87, or 0.57 percent of the total count. Allexcept one can be classified as simple, flat bases, circular in shape, with a complete flat vessel base illus-trated in Figure 3. The exception involves a squarish or angled plain flat base fragment.

The decorated ceramics include rim and body sherds with slipped or painted surfaces, incision,appliqued forms or a combination of these three types. The decorated body sherds without a seconda-ry shape feature (e.g., incised handle) number 64 (or 0.41 percent of the total unit sample), while the rimsnumber 73 (or 0.47 percent of the total unit count). Four rim sherds and ten of the body sherds possessred-slipped surfaces as their only form of decoration, while four rim sherds and one cross-mended bodysherd exhibit red-slipped external surfaces with parallel, thick, uneven incisions (Figure 4).

Unit 1 produced the only case of a bichrome rim sherd, depicted in Figure 5, which is red-slippedonly on the interior, with a black-painted/smudged straight line.

Incision, alone or combined with appliqued strips or handles, is the preferred form of decorationwithin the LO-9 unit sample assemblage. Forty-eight examples of thickly incised parallel lines on bodysherds are evident, four of which are shown in Figure 6. Six cases of thinly incised body sherds arealso evident in the sample. Fifty-nine rims possess thick incisions perpendicular or angled to the rimlip; three rims have thick incisions in a different orientation, and two possess thin incisions perpendi-cular to the rim lip.

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Secondary shape features include carinas or changes in the vessel wall angle, handles, unidenti-fied forms and those specific to rim lips discussed below. Body sherds with carinas make up 4.45 per-cent (count of 596), and rims with carinas constitute 15.84 percent (count of 316) of their respectiverim/body unit total counts. Handles or appliqued non-functional handle-like supports alone or onbody sherds number 146 (1.09 percent of the total unit body sherd count). Handle types in the LO-9sample consist of undecorated non-specific-as-to-type, lug or tabular, loop, thickly incised and appli-qued strip examples. The one example of a complete loop handle (two cross-mends) built up fromunfinished clay coils is depicted in Figure 7, along with one of the general handle types.

Rim sherds with functional or non-functional handles total 54 (2.71 percent of the total unit rimcount). Thirty-five of the rims possess appliqued strip handles, which can be incised or plain andeither vertical, as shown in Figure 8, or curved, as shown in Figure 9 (top). The two rim examples alsohave had thick, perpendicular incisions applied to the upper rim portion of the sherd. Thickly incised,partially or wholly flattened handles, the so-called “vestigial handles” can be found on thirteen of therims, with two cases illustrated in Figures 9 (bottom) and 10.

The rims received a more extensive analysis including classification by wall angle type, lip form,presence of secondary shape features, width, surface treatment, surface colors and paste characteris-tics.

Rim Wall Angle Types: Of the 1,627 unit rims suitable for examination of this trait, deep or near-ly straight-sided wall angled rims constitute the highest category with 910 or 55.93 percent of the totalcount. Concave or outward/inward curving wall angled rims account for the next highest categorywith 198 or 12.17 percent, closely followed by restrictive or inward-curving wall angled rims with 185or 11.37 percent. Shallow or outward-curving wall angled rims make up the lowest frequency catego-ry with 43 or 2.64 percent. An indeterminate class of rims comprise the remaining fragments with 291or 17.89 percent of the total count. Rim coil fragments, 21 cases from the units, are also present.

Other rim attributes coded for:Rim Lip Form: Square-lipped rims comprise a majority or 58.38 percent (857 cases) of the unit

rims, with rounded forms accounting for 41.62 percent (611 examples) of the count. Rim Lip Thickening: Six hundred and sixty-six rims or 40.36 percent of the unit sample possess

angular, rounded or other types of internal and external thickening. Internal thickening predominates,with 608 cases, over external and other forms.

Surface Color: Reddish browns (dark or a lighter hue) and darker browns are the predominantsurface colors, with black, dark grays and lighter brown occurring as secondary hues.

Surface Treatment: Although LO-9’s sample of ceramics can be characterized as well-preserved,813 or 49.3 percent of the unit rims possess at least one side with a whole or partially pitted or erodedsurface. The majority or 81.9 percent of the unit rims exhibit at least one moderately finished surface(e.g., low to moderate protrusion of temper; rim coil marks not normally visible), with a similar per-centage—81.1—possessing at least one surface with a light to moderate amount of polishing or burni-shing.

Paste Treatment: Paste colors tend toward the reddish brown, with or without a well-definedblack to dark brown core. Temper ranges in size from under 1 mm to occasionally rock particles of 7to 8 mm with medium concentrations normally evident.

❐ DISCUSSION

Chronological Placement Research Issue

Our first research issue involved chronological placement of the cultural material assemblage atLO-9. The assemblage was found to be similar enough to other defined assemblages as well as toRouse’s formal model to place it within the larger, established Puerto Rican time-space framework,while retaining a specific developmental signature. The delineation of the site’s ceramic characteris-tics, in particular, also provides a basis for selecting which of the LO-9 radiocarbon dating results ismost likely.

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The LO-9 ceramic assemblage characteristics, when compared to the established types of Rouse’slatest 1992 model, most closely corresponds to the Ostionoid rather than the Saladoid series. Absentare such diagnostic early to mid-period Saladoid traits as red-on-white slipped/painted designs, annu-lar bases, jar vessel forms, flanges on rims, and a high proportion of thin, lighter brown surface-colo-red sherds. Absent also are characteristic traits of the later Ostionoid series styles of Esperanza andCapa—a low proportion of thickened rims and incision in the form of pairs of parallel lines with orwithout punctation. The presence in the LO-9 sample of predominantly reddish brown or darkerbrown surface colors, rim coils, vertical deep incisions alone or with vestigial handles, and a high pro-portion of thickened rims all argue for a close correspondence with the Santa Elena style. A low ove-rall frequency of unpainted and unincised sherds and use of red and black slipping/paint can also beconsidered indicative of the early Ostionoid series styles of Monserrate or Early Ostiones.

The assignment of the LO-9 ceramic assemblage to early and mid-Ostionoid series styles, indicatesthat the date range associated with the fresh water scenario becomes the more likely possibility. TheA.D. 650 to 1215 span for the sites closely conforms to Rouse’s modeled time frame for these styles.

Stylistic And Local Cultural Boundary Research Issue

Our second empirical expectation touched on the nature of ceramic stylistic and local culturalboundaries and whether or not a sequence could be established employing already defined broad-based styles. Meléndez Maíz’s interpretations of the LO-9 ceramic sequence led her to consider thatthe ceramic assemblages represented a very late Saladoid series or that of the very early Ostionoid, fol-lowed by the Early Ostiones style, more characteristic of western Puerto Rico than eastern Puerto Rico,and then the Santa Elena style. When the nearby well-defined comparable assemblage of the LO-22/23site (Grossman and Associates, Inc. 1990) is examined, a different pattern is evident. The LO-22/23Loíza area site contains multi-occupational phases, and represents a very similar time span to that ofLO-9. Three prehistoric occupations were defined, beginning with a pre- A.D. 650 phase, an A.D. 650to 900 phase, and an A.D. 900 to 1200 phase. The researchers’ analysis of the ceramic assemblage, cor-related with radiocarbon shell dates and the stratigraphic sequence, led them to infer an early unna-med style, with the remaining two styles within the Elenan Ostionoid subseries—unnamed,Monserrate/Tibes and Santa Elena styles. Taking the ceramic description of the LO-9 sample and itscongruencies with Rouse’s established model and Site LO-22/23, we consider that LO-9’s ceramicassemblage demonstrates enough similarities with this comparative data base to warrant subdividingthe assemblage into components belonging to the Santa Elena style, a Monserrate or Early Ostionesstyle and a possibly very late Cuevas style. The presence of these ceramic styles translates into an occu-pation at the site from A.D. 550 to 1200.

Settlement and Subsistence Research Issue

Our expectation concerning a broad-spectrum subsistence pattern, with an emphasis on the foodmost readily available to the inhabitants of LO-9 was not so well demonstrated. As noted above, a verylow incidence of griddle fragments were identified in the sample—low enough, given the considerablequantity of ceramics recovered, to question the people’s reliance on cultivated or gathered plant foods.Such an absence of admittedly indirect indicators of agricultural products in the diet could be due toother considerations, such as trading for partially or fully prepared plants or preparing the produce inother ways than on griddles. The almost exclusive reliance on mollusks, and in particular the WestIndian Pointed Venus clam shell (Anomalocardia brasiliana), led us, as well as Ms. Narganes Storde,to consider that LO-9 may represent a settlement largely devoted to the exploitation of this clam andother mollusk shells. The site’s location would have presented the inhabitants with a wide range ofpossible exploitable habitats—deeper oceans, shallow offshore waters, mangroves, and nearby land-forms, which were clearly not utilized. Cultural culinary preference rules might help to explain LO-9’s apparent settlement/subsistence pattern, as would involvement in broader, regional trade or sub-sistence networks.

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❐ REFERENCES CITED

Curet, L. A.1992 House Structure and Cultural Change in the Caribbean: Three Case Studies from Puerto

Rico. Latin American Antiquity 3(2):160-174.

Faber Morse, B.1995 The Sequence of Occupations at the Salt River Site, St. Croix. Proceedings of the XVth

International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology 15:471-484. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Grossman and Associates, Inc.1990 Excavation and Analysis Results of Archaeological Investigations at Mediana Alta (L-23) and

Vieques (L-22), Loíza, Puerto Rico. Grossman and Associates, Inc., New York.

Meléndez Maiz, M. J.1995a Estudio Arqueológico para Nominar como Distrito Arquelógico la Region Piñones-Vacia

Talega, Loíza, Puerto Rico. Prepared for the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office.1995b National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for the Piñones-VaciaTalega

Archaeological District. Prepared for the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office.

Oliver, J. R.1993 Chapter 3: Cultural Overview. In Iglesia de Maraguez (PO-39): Investigation of a Local

Ceremonial Center in the Cerrillos River Valley, Ponce, Puerto Rico; prepared by P. Garrow,C. McNutt, Jr., G. Weaver, and J. Oliver, pp. 14-50. Garrow and Associates, Inc., Atlanta,Georgia.

Questell Rodriguez, E., and C. Figueroa Sellas1995 Informe de Evaluación Arqueológica, Fase 1A-1B, Proyecto Paseo Piñones (The Piñones

Trail), Loíza, Puerto Rico. Prepared for Otto Octavio Reyes Casanova, Architects, San Juan,Puerto Rico.

Rodríguez López, M.1979 Inventario de Yacimentos Arqueológicos del Municipio de Loíza. Manuscript on file with the

Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.

Rouse, I.1952 Porto Rican Prehistory: Introduction; Excavations in the West and North.Scientific Survey of

Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands, vol. 18, Part 3. The New York Academy of Sciences, NewYork.

1992 The Taïnos: Rise and Decline of the People who Greeted Columbus. Yale University Press,New Haven and London.

Rouse, I., and R. E. Alegría1990 Excavations at Maria de la Cruz Cave and Hacienda Grande Village Site, Loíza Puerto Rico.

Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No. 80. Department of Anthropology and thePeabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven.

Rouse, I., and B. Faber Morse1995 The Mill Reef Period: A Local Development on the Island of Antigua. Proceedings of the

XVIth International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology, Part 2, 16:322-332. ConseilRégional de la Guadeloupe, Basse Terre.

Vélez Vélez, J. G.1989 Proyecto Estudio Arqueológico del Area de Planificación Especial de Piñones: Fases 1A y 1B.

Draft report prepared for the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources and the Instituteof Puerto Rican Culture.

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❐ LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Archaeological Site LO-9 Study Area location (USGS 7.5’ Quadrangle, Carolina PR, 1969,photorevised 1982).

Figure 2. Archaeological Site LO-9 with shovel test and unit locations (USACE, JacksonvilleDistrict 1997; adapted from Dwg. No. 10/8).

Figure 3. Site LO-9, complete circular flat plain vessel base, Unit 2B Stratum 3 Level 7 Feature 1.

Figure 4. Site LO-9, red-slipped incised rims, exterior views: (a) Unit 1A, Stratum 3, Level 4; (b)Unit 1A, Stratum 3, Level 1; (c1), (c2) and (d) Unit 1B, Stratum 3, Level 1.

Figure 5. Site LO-9, red-slipped rim sherd with black painted design, interior view, Unit 1AStratum 3 Level 2.

Figure 6. Site LO-9, thickly incised body sherds: (a) Unit 2A Stratum 3 Level 7; (b) Unit 2B Stratum3 Level 2; (c) Unit 2B Stratum 3 Level 3; (d) Unit 2A Stratum 3 Level 3.

Figure 7. Examples of handles from Site LO-9.

Figure 8. Site LO-9, thickly incised rim sherd with appliqued strip handle.

Figure 9. Site LO-9, decorated rims: thickly incised rim sherd with curved appliqued strip hand-le (upper); and rim sherd with thickly incised flattened handle (lower).

Figure 10. Rim with thickly incised partially flattened handle, Site LO-9.

❐ LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Results of the radiocarbon dating analyses of four clam shell (Anomalocardia brasiliana)assemblage samples from various proveniences at Site LO-9.

Table 2. Counts, MNI figures, weights and biomass figures for major taxa at Site LO-9.

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Figure 1. Archaeological Site LO-9 Study Area location (USGS 7.5’ Quadrangle, Carolina PR, 1969, photorevised 1982).

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Figure 2. Archaeological Site LO-9 with shovel test and unit locations (USACE, Jacksonville District 1997; adapted from Dwg. No. 10/8).

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Figure 3. Site LO-9, complete circular flat plain vessel base, Unit 2B Stratum 3 Level 7 Feature 1.

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Figure 4. Site LO-9, red-slipped incised rims, exterior views: (a) Unit 1A, Stratum 3, Level 4;(b) Unit 1A, Stratum 3, Level 1; (c1), (c2) and (d) Unit 1B, Stratum 3, Level 1.

Figure 5. Site LO-9, red-slipped rim sherd with black painted design, interior view, Unit 1A Stratum 3 Level 2.

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Figure 6. Site LO-9, thickly incised body sherds: (a) Unit 2A Stratum 3 Level 7; (b) Unit 2BStratum 3 Level 2; (c) Unit 2B Stratum 3 Level 3; (d) Unit 2A Stratum 3 Level 3.

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Figure 7. Examples of handles from Site LO-9.

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Figure 8. Site LO-9, thickly incised rim sherd with appliqued strip handle.

Figure 9. Site LO-9, decorated rims: thickly incised rim sherd with curved appliqued striphandle (upper); and rim sherd with thickly incised flattened handle (lower).

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Figure 10. Rim with thickly incised partially flattened handle, Site LO-9.

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Table 1. Results of the radiocarbon dating analyses of four clam shell (Anomalocardia brasiliana) assemblage samples from various proveniences at Site LO-9.

Table 2. Counts, MNI figures, weights and biomass figures for major taxa at Site LO-9.