XVI International Botanical Congess

The Caribbean has been occupied by human groups for several millennia. Archaeological research demonstrates that the prehistoric inhabitants relied on natural resources of the islands, but they also introduced and maintained important plants and animals from continental areas, including tuber crops, maize, peppers, guinea pigs, dogs, and some medium-sized rodents. The distributions of certain taxa, for example, agouti, conform to Island Biogeographic theory, specifically distance and area effects. The presence of other resources may be explained by increasing ritualism (plant narcotics, guinea pig) and/or horticultural activities (maize, rice rat). The combinations of native and introduced resources, and according to the demands of individual island environments, resulted in a uniquely Caribbean pattern of subsistence.