c.

c. 800 BC – 200 BC: While biogeographers once argued that the Lesser Antilles served as a “stepping-stone” archipelago for gradual northward movement, the earliest well-dated Early Ceramic Age sites are actually concentrated in the northern islands. Sites in Puerto Rico, Vieques, the Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Antigua, and St. Martin have provided radiocarbon dates indicating established colonies during this early window. This pattern suggests that the first Saladoid migrants may have bypassed many southern islands to settle in the north. One possible explanation for this distribution is the extensive archaeological research conducted in these specific northern locations. However, the data currently supports a more rapid expansion through the archipelago than previously hypothesized.