c.

c. AD 900 – 1500: Excavations at the Île à Rat site in Haiti revealed a Cultural deposit approximately 75 centimeters deep with five distinct strata. These strata accurately reflect the regional cultural sequence of the Archaic Age, Ostionoid, Meillacoid, Chicoid, and early Spanish contact. The uppermost root zone contained Spanish pottery, documenting the arrival of European explorers who visited the island on December 20, 1492. Below this, a dense concentration of Chicoid pottery was found alongside juvenile Lobatus gigas shells. This stratigraphic separation confirms the distinct identities and technological shifts associated with the different pottery series in the northern Caribbean.