UC San Diego

As climate change occurs rapidly, communities affected by it are desperately seeking answers and hope for the future. They face questions about how it will look, how the marine ecosystem will resist, and how we can adapt. This dissertation examines past examples in the Caribbean, especially in Puerto Rico, where indigenous societies faced changes similar to the present to answer some of the current communities’ questions. Even though contemporary and past societies may not be directly comparable, the deep historical and time perspective used in archaeology can provide valuable data to present problems. By using the Anthtoposystem/ Socio-ecological framework, it was possible to organize the data in the abiotic, biotic, and cultural context with an awareness of scales and produce data to examine the impact of climate change and sudden atmospheric events on their environments and the associated subsistence and residential practices of coastal societies in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico) whose marine ecosystems represent their primary source of food or economy. As a result, it was possible to identify the effects of the Medieval Climate Anomaly around 900-1000 CE on the Caribbean and how the coral reef could have been affected. Additionally, it was possible to identify fishing traditions that helped conserve the fish communities near the archaeological sites. This represents a novel result for the island of Puerto Rico and the coral restoration projects in the area. It helps identify a coral reef zone that can be categorized as sentinel containing a possible genetic variation resistant to coral bleaching. Thus giving hope to the communities of security of fishing banks in the region.