Eastern West Indies (28,577–7,822 BCE) Upper Pleistocene II — Deglaciation & Lagoon Growth (Sparse/Episodic Use)

Geographic and Environmental Context

Eastern West Indies includes eastern Haiti and most of the Dominican Republic (excluding the northern fringe), Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Lesser Antilles (Anguilla → Aruba), and Trinidad & Tobago

Anchors: Vega Real–Santo Domingo valleys; Puerto Rico (Cordillera Central & coastal plains); Virgin Islands passes; Leewards/Windwards (Guadeloupe–Dominica–Martinique–St. Lucia–Barbados–St. Vincent–Grenada–Aruba); Trinidad & Tobago at the Orinoco gate.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Warming flooded benches into lagoons; mangroves expanded.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Regional Archaic foragers likely reached Windwards/Leewards and Trinidad for seasonal shellfish–fish camps; Puerto Rico/Dominican east saw episodic foraging.

Technology & Corridors

• Preceramic tools; canoe/raft coastal lanes via Orinoco → Trinidad → Lesser Antilles.

Symbolism & Adaptation

• Shell-heap feasting; mobility buffered storms.

Transition

• A stepping-stone archipelago primed for lasting settlement.