New Discoveries in Cuban Paleontology: Insights from NAPC 2024

I am excited to share the highlights of our recent presentation at the 12th North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC) held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Our research has unveiled fascinating insights into the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene terrestrial vertebrate diversity in Cuba, with a special focus on the El Abra Formation in Matanzas.

Groundbreaking Discoveries

Our study marks the first documentation of capromyid rodents from this period, alongside an associated biota including plants, manta rays, sharks, barracudas, and bony fishes. These findings significantly enhance the Cuban terrestrial vertebrate fossil record, contributing to our understanding of the region's paleoecology and biogeography.

A Multidisciplinary Approach

By integrating stratigraphy, geochronology, and comparative anatomy, we aim to place these findings within a broader evolutionary and paleoecological context. Our multidisciplinary approach sheds light on patterns of vertebrate dispersal and diversification, revealing a dynamic ecosystem during this transitional epoch.

The Future of Paleontological Research in Cuba

The discoveries at El Abra underscore its potential as a crucial site for future paleontological research. This study not only fills a significant gap in the fossil record but also sets a new trajectory for paleontological exploration in the region, highlighting the complexity of Caribbean faunal history.

Gratitude and Future Collaborations

A special shout-out to my amazing coauthors and collaborators: Logel Lorenzo, Lazaro Lopez, Alberto Clark, and Yasmani Ceballos. Their hard work and dedication made this research possible. 

I also extend my heartfelt thanks to all the organizers and attendees who made the NAPC an unforgettable event. It was an honor to reconnect with old friends and forge new connections. Your enthusiasm and support are invaluable, and I eagerly look forward to future collaborations to further our understanding of Caribbean paleontology.

Stay tuned for more updates and photos from the convention!

Unveiling the Past: Latest Insights into Cretaceous OAEs and Extinct Caribbean Mammals

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since my last post, and I'm excited to share an update on my recent research and findings.

My latest work has been focused on studying the sedimentary records throughout the Cretaceous period, particularly those that show intermittent intervals of organic-rich strata due to severe oxygen depletion in the ocean, known as Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs). These deposits, which generated large amounts of hydrocarbons, indicate significant changes in the global carbon cycle (Weissert et al., 1979; Weissert, 1989). Although such records are well-documented in the Americas, they have not been well-characterized in the Antilles until now.

Using high-resolution chemostratigraphy, we conducted an assessment of Lower Cretaceous, organic-rich limestones from Sierra de los Órganos, Western Cuba. This succession, accumulated along the passive margin of the Maya Block due to the expansion of the Proto-Caribbean Seaway in the middle Mesozoic, became part of Cuba during the Eocene and now comprises the Guaniguanico Terrain.

The occurrence of calpionellids Tintinopsella cf. carpathica and Calpionellites cf. darderi supports the chronostratigraphic correlation up to the earliest Hauterivian (Pszczółkowski, 1999; Mutterlose et al., 2021; Giraldo-Gómez et al., 2022). Our results reveal that the widespread oxygen-deficient conditions associated with the Valanginian "Weissert" oceanic anoxic event are also recorded in the Proto-Caribbean Basin.

I presented these findings at the 14th Romanian Symposium on Paleontology in Bucharest in September 2023 and at the SEPM International Sedimentary Geosciences Congress in Flagstaff, Arizona in May 2024.

In addition to my work on OAEs, I have also been researching the extinct, shrew-like mammal Nesophontes, endemic to the Greater Antilles. The Cuban taxa within this genus have a challenging taxonomic history due to the ample size variation observed in skeletal remains. My detailed systematic revision of Cuban species through multivariate morphometric and qualitative analyses, including discrete osteological characteristics and stable isotope analysis, supports the presence of three species divided into two morphotypes. These findings were published in the Journal of South American Earth Sciences in August 2023 and are available here.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to explore the fascinating history of the Caribbean's paleontological and geological past.

Idealized reconstruction of Nesophontes micrus based on sketches and augmented

using AI (DALL-E) software. Image copyright of J. Orihuela. 

Clay tobacco pipes from a late 17th century wreck off Cuba

A new and interesting wreck has been detected off the coast of eastern Cuba by team of archaeologists. The shipwreck contained a small cargo of clay tobacco pipes and ordinance that can be traced to the last decades of the 17th century. These findings are superbly fascinating. Not just for the new information it will bring to the development of marine archaeology on the Cuban archipelago, but because of its cargo of smoking tobacco pipes -some of the oldest yet reported by local archaeology.

The initial findings have been recently presented at the "29 Congreso Asociación Internacional de Arqueología del Caribe", an archaeology meeting that took place in Cuba this past June 30. Thanks to the courtesy of the Cuban researchers Yadira Rojas Espinosa and colleagues, I was integrated into the team to help study those clay tobacco pipes. Here, I extend my gratitude for such an invitation and recognition. 

Here are brief bilingual abstracts of the talk Yadira Rojas gave at the recent "Simposio 9: Arqueología de la esclavitud, Arqueología Histórica y Arqueología Subacuática (Varadero, Matanzas, Cuba)" (= Simposium 9, historical archaeology, subaquatic archaeology and archaeology of slavery). 

Our talk deals with the recognition and preliminary prospecting of the underwater archaeological site, located in Puerto Rico beach, within the municipality of Banes, eastern Cuba. We report the discovery of a cache of smoking tobacco pipes rescued from the site, and provide an approximation of the pipe’s typology, manufacturer marks, seriation (age), and origin. The clay pipes are identified as likely Dutch. Several specimens are visibly marked on their heel, make it possible to establish the chronology of the shipwreck around the last third of the 17th-century. These pipes are particularity relevant for their abundance, whish suggest a small cargo of them, and because pipes of this age have been poorly studied or reported from Cuban archaeological contexts. The finding of this new wreck and our current study of its material remains present a testimony to a period in the 17th century where commercial activity and maritime exchange were protagonists within the colonial dynamics in the Caribbean.

Resumen: La ponencia aborda el reconocimiento y prospección preliminar del sitio arqueológico subacuático, localizado en playa Puerto Rico, municipio de Banes, Cuba. Se expone además los resultados del estudio de un lote de pipas de fumar tabaco rescatado del yacimiento a partir de una aproximación a sus valores tipológicos y morfológicos. La particularidad y relevancia de las pipas de fumar, en este caso holandesas, por su cantidad en el sitio y presencia de marcas visibles en su talón, posibilitan establecer la cronología del naufragio, probablemente en el último tercio del siglo XVII. La investigación histórica y geográfica de este entorno en la costa norte de Cuba, determinó la comprensión del contexto particular del naufragio. Este acercamiento resulta ser testimonio de un período en el siglo XVII donde la actividad comercial y el intercambio marítimo fueron protagonistas dentro de las dinámicas coloniales en el Caribe.

Recommended citation: 

Rojas Espinosa, Y., Rodriguez Buzón, Y., Orihuela León, J., Munoz Varona, R. E. (2022). Estudio de evidencias procedentes de un yacimiento arqueológico subacuático: Naufragio del siglo XVII en playa Puerto Rico, Banes, Cuba. 29 Congreso Asociación Internacional de Arqueología del Caribe (IACA-AIAC): Simposio 9: Arqueología de la esclavitud, Arqueología Histórica y Arqueología Subacuática. El jueves 30 de junio de 2022, de 12:15-12:30pm.

New book on the history of Matanzas, Cuba

Historia fundacional de Matanzas: los años formativos (1680-1765) from Aspha Ediciones publishing house (ISBN-978-987-3851-33-9), is a book that covers the planning and population process of the city of Matanzas, northeast of Cuba.

The book provides a rich compendium in 584 pages of detailed information, extracted from the documents of the time, on the planning of San Severino, the main fortification, and the settlement system of the region. Several chapters are dedicated exclusively to the migratory process of whole Spanish families (Canary Islands) that emigrated to the island of Cuba and were later selected to populate the new city of San Carlos de Matanzas in 1693. Lists of founders and other families are provided with details about the date of their arrival, precedence in the Canary archipelago, names and surnames, their physical condition and health history, and in some cases even a physical description. Therefore, these data make this work a relevant source of genealogical information for the investigation of Canarian families who emigrated to Cuba at the end of the seventeenth century and their settlement and distribution within the island since then. In addition to this, details of other ethnic groups and migratory groups are provided, with similar detail, which also included the population of the city of Matanzas and the surroundings of its bay.


The book is available here:

 

https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/johanset-orihuela-león/historia-fundacional-de-matanzas-los-años-formativos-1680-1765/paperback/product-gkngqq.html?page=1&pageSize=4

 

New findings of birds in paleontological and archaeological contexts of Cuba

With great excitement here I announce the publication of another contribution to the archaeology and paleontology of the island of Cuba. On this occasion as a collaborator to Osvaldo Jimenez, zooarchaeologist, a specialist from the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, Cuba. Our paper came out today on the scientific journal Novitates Caribaea, available here:

https://novitatescaribaea.do/index.php/novitates/article/view/251

https://doi.org/10.33800/nc.vi17.251 

We take this opportunity to extend our thanks to Roger Arrazcaeta Delgado, Raúl Mesa Morales, Marcos A. Acosta Mauri, Gabinete de Arqueología, Oficina del Historiador de La Habana (OHH), Jorge A. Garcell Domínguez, Consejo Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (CNPC); William Suárez Duque, P.O. Box 16477, West Palm Beach, Florida 33165, USA.; S. L. Olson, Megan Spitzer y Christina A. Gebhard, Division of Birds, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA; Peter Capainolo, Division of Birds, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.

Arredondo´s owl (Pulsatrix arredondoi). 

Bilingual abstract: 

 This paper provides new records on Cuban birds such as the endemic Cuban macaw (Ara tricolor), found in two archaeological sites in Old Havana dated in the 17th and 18th centuries. We provide details on Arredondo´s owl (Pulsatrix arredondoi), extinct since prehistory, but whose remains have been collected in two caves near Las Charcas, a community in San José de las Lajas municipality, Mayabeque province. The report also includes the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis), from a specimen collected in Cueva del Aguacate in the above-cited location. The bone remains found in Cueva de Las Charcas match a paleontological context, but the other was found in la Cueva de los Muertos, an archaic culture archaeological site (i.e., hunter-fisher-gatherers). The possibility that P. arredondoi formed part of this pre-Columbian aboriginal’s diet is considered. The record of C. principalis represents the first finding of this species in paleontological contexts in Cuba. Information on the natural history of the species is moreover provided. 

Spanish:

 Se comentan nuevos registros de aves de Cuba, como el guacamayo cubano (Ara tricolor), hallado en dos sitios arqueológicos de La Habana Vieja, de los siglos XVII y XVIII, asimismo, el búho de Arredondo (Pulsatrix arredondoi), ave extinta en tiempos prehistóricos, cuyos restos hemos colectado en dos cuevas de la comunidad Las Charcas, municipio San José de las Lajas, provincia Mayabeque, y por último, el carpintero real (Campephilus principalis), colectado en la Cueva del Aguacate, sitio localizado también en la comunidad Las Charcas. El resto óseo de P. arredondoi colectado en la Cueva de Las Charcas procede de un contexto paleontológico. En cambio, el otro resto proviene de la Cueva de los Muertos, que es un sitio arqueológico de aborígenes arcaicos, también conocidos como apropiadores mesolíticos. Por vez primera se considera la posibilidad de que P. arredondoi formara parte de la dieta de los aborígenes precolombinos citados. El registro de C. principalis representa el primer hallazgo de esta especie en contextos paleontológicos de Cuba. Adicionalmente se aporta información novedosa sobre la historia natural de las especies tratadas. 

 Citation: 

 Jiménez, O. & Orihuela, J. (2021) «Nuevos hallazgos de aves en contextos paleontológicos y arqueológicos de Cuba», Novitates Caribaea, (17), pp. 163-176. doi: 10.33800/nc.vi17.251.