出版社：South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology
摘要：Recent field research in the Bahamian Archipelago has focused on building a more comprehensive karst and cultural site inventory in order to more effectively model the distinctive rock art distribution patterns of the region. We documented cave rock art occurrences across six islands, expanding the geographical distribution in the Archipelago by including previously unreported sites. Detailed cultural resource inventories and cave maps were generated for each of the eleven Bahamian sites and one from the Turks & Caicos islands, some mapped for the first time, to define comparative motif distributions as a function of overall site geomorphology. We defined the spatial context of cave rock art sites in the region, examining their multi-scalar distribution patterns, associated landscape uses, and apparent site selection criteria. The comparative distributional analysis clearly indicates that site selection and rock art panel surface utilization criteria were restrictive, deterministic and dependent on the cave geomorphologies specific to a limited number of islands in the Bahamian Archipelago. We further assessed other indigenous and Euro-colonial uses associated with each site as well as their current and long-term preservation status as fragile cultural remnants unique to the region.
