POSSIBLE EVIDENCE OF ANTHROPOGENIC LAND DEGRADATION FROM ANALYSES OF SEDIMENT CORES FROM TRIANGLE POND, SAN SALVADOR, BAHAMAS

San Salvador Island, Bahamas, features a large number of inland lakes. Triangle Pond, a brackish, shallow interdunal basin, is located in close proximity to Lucayan (8-15^th C.) sites and Loyalist period (18^th-19^th C.) settlements. In order to study changes in climate and human impacts on the environment, five sediment cores varying from 58 cm to 178 cm in length were extracted from Triangle Pond adjacent to the Minnis-Ward archaeological site. Sediment grain size and composition were used to define stratigraphic layering in each core. The upper 91 cm of core BA09TP3A was studied in depth. Four major sediment layers were identified. The top 15 cm is a very fine-grained, sandy mud layer. Between 15 cm and 60 cm is a peat layer. A bioclastic sandy mud lies between 60-79 cm and overlies a grayish brown carbonate mud. Preliminary interpretation of the stratigraphic sequence suggests a general regression from a quiet water embayment possibly connected to the ocean, to a coastal marsh, and finally an inland lake. The core was sampled every centimeter and analyzed for moisture, organic, and carbonate content using the loss-on-ignition (LOI) technique and for elemental concentration using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). The LOI data show high carbonate content for sand layers. The carbonate spikes within the peat may represent input of storm-derived or aeolian sands. ICPMS data show peak aluminum and iron concentration below 70 cm suggesting inputs from soil to the pond. Phosphorus also increases in concentration at depths below 55 cm. These data suggest possible evidence for the initial peopling of the island and the introduction of slash-and-burn agriculture after 700 A.D. that might have caused soil erosion. Radiocarbon dating of key stratigraphic layers is needed to support these preliminary interpretations of the Triangle Pond cores.