c. AD 1200 – 1500: The exchange of guaízas (small shell masks) during the Late Ceramic Age served as a mechanism for “costly giving,” where prestige items were used to solidify social…

c. AD 1200 – 1500: The exchange of guaízas (small shell masks) during the Late Ceramic Age served as a mechanism for “costly giving,” where prestige items were used to solidify social alliances. Research by A.A.A. Mol suggests that these masks were organic components of a regional exchange system that balanced local diversity with regional connectivity. Found across both the Greater and Lesser Antilles, these objects facilitated interaction between distant polities, acting as physical tokens of shared social value. This model of exchange provides a framework for understanding how Caribbean societies maintained cohesion through the circulation of highly valued symbolic items.