This paper presents the first systematic study of pre-Columbian imported stone celts recovered from the limestone islands of the Lucayan archipelago, comprising The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands of the northern Caribbean/West Atlantic. The majority derive from antiquarian collections and early archaeological investigations, prior to the destruction of many sites due to guano mining and development; only a handful have been recovered during archaeological investigations since the 1960s. The corpus includes 224 celts, of which 162 are complete and provide the measurements for a comparison with width/length ratios of celts from the proximate source islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. While the Lucayan archipelago shows a slightly higher proportion of wider celts, consistent with more reworking, overall the corpus suggests that exchange networks were sufficient to meet demand. This conclusion is supported by the absence of any clear diminution in size with distance from sources. The majority of stone celts (71.9 %) have been identified as various forms of “jade,” supplemented with a range of other materials. Despite the higher value often attributed to jade cross-culturally, we find no clear evidence for its differential treatment, though the archipelago’s northern islands do have a lower proportion of jade versus non-jade celts.

“For there is no rock”: Lucayan stone celts from The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.

“…the occasional discovery of beautifully polished stone implements proves that [the Lucayans] were in communication with distant lands, for there is no rock, except soft coral limestone, anywhere in the archipelago.”

Brooks 1889b:97-98

本文首次系统研究了从卢卡亚群岛石灰岩岛屿中回收的前哥伦布时期进口的凯尔特石，该群岛包括北加勒比海/西大西洋的巴哈马群岛和特克斯和凯科斯群岛。大多数来自古物收藏和早期考古调查，在许多遗址因鸟粪开采和开发而遭到破坏之前；自 1960 年代以来，在考古调查中只发现了少数。该语料库包括 224 个凯尔特人，其中 162 个是完整的，并提供测量值，用于与来自古巴和伊斯帕尼奥拉岛附近源岛的凯尔特人的宽度/长度比进行比较。虽然卢卡亚群岛显示出略高比例的宽凯尔特人，这与更多的改造相一致，总体而言，语料库表明交换网络足以满足需求。这一结论得到了支持，因为与源的距离没有任何明显的尺寸减小。大多数凯尔特石 (71.9%) 已被确定为各种形式的“玉”，辅以一系列其他材料。尽管在跨文化领域，翡翠通常具有更高的价值，但我们没有发现明确的证据表明其受到不同的待遇，尽管该群岛北部岛屿的玉石凯尔特人与非玉石凯尔特人的比例确实较低。

“因为没有岩石”：来自巴哈马群岛和特克斯和凯科斯群岛的卢卡亚石凯尔特人。

“……偶尔会发现抛光精美的石器，这证明[卢卡亚人]与遥远的土地有联系，因为在群岛的任何地方，除了软珊瑚石灰岩外，没有任何岩石。”

布鲁克斯 1889b:97-98