Sheahan Bestel
I research archaeological and modern day human-environment interactions in a range of ecological zones including coastal and island sites, tropical and temperate wetlands, grasslands and forests, and northern taiga forests and tundras. I have worked in many regions of the world including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Japan, Laos, Papua New Guinea, the UK and the USA. I research plant remains and microfossils through microscopy or scientific archaeological methods, including plant remains such as charred plant seeds, nuts, tubers and wood; plant microfossils including starch and pollen grains, bordered pits, fibers, calcium oxalate and silica phytoliths; and other microfossils including fibers, hairs and blood residues. I can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected].
Address: Archaeology, University of Exeter, UK
Address: Archaeology, University of Exeter, UK
less
Related Authors
InterestsView All (30)
Uploads
Papers by Sheahan Bestel
circum-Caribbean and Greater Antilles except for Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean.We examine a
population traditionally understood by Cuban archaeologists as “fisheregatherers” from the shell-matrix
site of Canímar Abajo, Cuba to examine subsistence practices using a combination of starch evidence
from dental calculus, aided by human bone collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope based probability
analyses (Stable Isotope Analysis in R; SIAR). This dual analysis suggests that two chronologically distinct
“fisheregatherer” Cuban populations (11 adult skeletons from the older cemetery component, 1380e800
BCE; 23 adult skeletons from the younger cemetery component, 360e950 CE) from Canímar Abajo used
at least two species of cultigens (beans and maize and/or sweet potatoes) along with wild plant species
and various readily available estuarine, marine and terrestrial animal resources.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
circum-Caribbean and Greater Antilles except for Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean.We examine a
population traditionally understood by Cuban archaeologists as “fisheregatherers” from the shell-matrix
site of Canímar Abajo, Cuba to examine subsistence practices using a combination of starch evidence
from dental calculus, aided by human bone collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope based probability
analyses (Stable Isotope Analysis in R; SIAR). This dual analysis suggests that two chronologically distinct
“fisheregatherer” Cuban populations (11 adult skeletons from the older cemetery component, 1380e800
BCE; 23 adult skeletons from the younger cemetery component, 360e950 CE) from Canímar Abajo used
at least two species of cultigens (beans and maize and/or sweet potatoes) along with wild plant species
and various readily available estuarine, marine and terrestrial animal resources.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved