c.

c. AD 1200 – 1500 (Subsistence and Ritual): The diet of Late Ceramic Age populations in the Caribbean was supplemented by the use of “broken pots” as wellheads to manage freshwater resources in coastal areas. In addition to staple crops, ritual life involved the consumption of fermented beverages and the use of tobacco, which were central to communal gatherings and shamanistic practices. Archaeological evidence from sites like White Marl in Jamaica and various locations in the Dominican Republic shows that these communities managed a complex “mosaic” of resources, balancing horticultural products with intensive fishing and the gathering of wild plants to ensure social and biological resilience.