Description:
The Archaeology of Tibes offers a groundbreaking reevaluation of Puerto Rico's earliest known ceremonial center, challenging long-held assumptions about social hierarchy and power in ancient Caribbean societies. Through a rich collection of essays, this volume shifts the focus from elite chiefdoms to the everyday lives, rituals, and memories of the people who shaped Tibes between 400 and 1300 CE. Featuring cutting-edge research in geoarchaeology, ceramic analysis, faunal studies, and rock art, the book presents a more nuanced and humanized view of social organization and cultural expression. Essential reading for scholars and students of Caribbean archaeology, this work invites fresh dialogue and sets a new standard for interpreting sacred spaces and community life in the ancient Americas.
Review Quotes:
"Curet and Stringer bring together the results of the most recent research at the iconic site and its surrounding region. Finding truly comparative information across sites in the Caribbean region has often been difficult over the years, and the book provides a quantity of useful comparative data. This is an important book for Caribbean archaeology." --Kathleen Deagan, author of En Bas Saline: A Taíno Town before and after Columbus