Deriving calibrations for Arawakan using archaeological evidence

Area of Science:

• Historical Linguistics
• Archaeology
• Anthropology

Background:

• The Arawakan language family is the largest Indigenous linguistic family in the Americas.
• Accurate phylogenetic rooting and dating are crucial for understanding the family's history and expansion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify reliable time calibration points for rooting and dating the Arawakan phylogeny.
• To develop and model a methodology for extracting these calibration points from the archaeological and historical records.

Main Methods:

• A methodology was developed to extract calibration points from archaeological data.
• Principles of geographical overlap and material culture continuity were applied.
• Focus was placed on Arawakan expansion zones with abrupt material culture appearance and single subgroup presence.
• Historical records, including ethnonyms and lexical data, were used for recent calibration points.

Main Results:

• Twelve calibration points were identified from archaeological sites within Arawakan expansion zones.
• Additional recent calibration points were derived from historical records.

Conclusions:

• The identified calibration points provide a robust framework for accurately dating the Arawakan language family's phylogeny.
• This methodology can be applied to other large linguistic families with archaeological and historical evidence.