09.12.2022New publication by Lev Michael, Natalia Chousou Polydouri, Gereon Kaiping and collaborators on Arawak calibrations

Deriving calibrations for Arawakan using archaeological evidence

This paper identifies calibration points for dating the phylogeny of Arawakan, the largest Indigenous linguistic family of the Americas. We present and model a methodology for extracting calibration points from the archaeological record, based on principles of geographical overlap between archaeological sites and Arawakan peoples, and on continuity in material culture between archaeological finds and modern Arawakan practices. We also identify more recent calibration points from the historical record based on first mentions of ethnonyms and early sources of lexical data.