Western West Indies (7,821–6,094 BCE) Early Holocene — Archaic Littoral on Cuba-West Hispaniola

Geographic and Environmental Context

Western West Indies includes Cuba and its surrounding isles, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and western Haiti — Tortuga Island, Port-de-Paix, western Massif du Nord, Gonâve Gulf & Île de la Gonâve, western Tiburon Peninsula (including Île à Vache).

Anchors: Windward Passage, Jamaica Channel, Tortuga–Port-de-Paix corridor, Gonâve Gulf, Cayman Ridge, northern Cuba shelves.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Shellfish, fish, turtle, manatee; deer/hutía where present; strand camps on Cuba north & Gonâve gulf margins.

Technology & Corridors

• Bone gorges, shell adzes; dugouts; near-shore canoeing via Windward Passage/Jamaica Channel in calm seasons.

Symbolism & Adaptation

• Shell-midden memory sites; storm-season mobility.