Woody Resources as a Medium for Colonial Engagement: Explaining the Artifactual and Architectural Record at La Soye, Dominica

Wood and other tree byproducts were significant commodities in contexts of early colonial economies, but few archaeological studies focus on these resources. This article presents historical and archaeological evidence of the exploitation of woody resources for the purpose of naval stores and export at the site of La Soye, Dominica, Eastern Caribbean, beginning in the 1580s and continuing until the first quarter of the eighteenth century. This research highlights the importance of wood and woody resources in early colonial encounters and economic relationships, and the role of Indigenous knowledge in facilitating an increasingly complex global economy.