Natural History

Investigating one of the Caribbean’s most important archaeological sites. Story & Photos By Joost Morsink One of the most unique and important archaeological sites in the Caribbean is located on the south shore of Middle Caicos. Various archaeologists have worked at the site since 1912, continuously trying to answer new questions with new techniques. In May and ...

When the sun sets on the coral reef, a different cast of characters comes out to play. By Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos & Captions By Barbara Shively Like the denizens of Lady Gaga’s demi-monde, the creatures who come out at night on the coral reef are a psychedelic parade of colors, shapes and textures. A nighttime visit ...

Learn more about squirrelfish, soldierfish and cardinalfish Story By Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos By Barbara Shively I would have liked the job of being the person to give fish their names. Yet I doubt I could have come up with such a terrific roster of appellations, ranging from the playful (clownfish) to inspiring (stargazer) to humorous (oldwife) ...

Middle Caicos grits have a long and distinquished ancestry. By Bill Keegan In Hispaniola both Indians and Spaniards have two kinds of bread. One sort is made of maíz, which is a grain, and the other of cassava. Maize is grain that is borne on an ear about six to eight inches long. This ear or spike is covered with ...

Multi-hued sea anemones turn the coral reef into an underwater garden. By Suzanne Gerber Photos By Barbara Shiveley No, you’re not confused: There are anemones in your garden, and there are sea anemones in the ocean. In fact, the ornately colored sea anemone (uh-NEM-uh-nee) is so called because of the striking resemblance it bears to its colorful terrestrial ...

The late Claude Lévi-Strauss dispeled the notion of “us” and “them”. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson The late Claude Lévi-Strauss dispeled the notion of “us” and “them”. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson I have sought a human society reduced to its most basic expression.  Claude Levi-Strauss, Triste Tropiques, 1955 Keegan was a teaching assistant for “Introduction to ...

The large, colorful, sociable Angelfish is on the “A” list in fish popularity. Story By Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos & Captions By Barbara Shiveley The large, colorful, sociable Angelfish is on the “A” list in fish popularity. Story By Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos & Captions By Barbara Shiveley When your dive or snorkeling buddy draws an imaginary ring over ...

The story of Columbus and the tortoise bone toilet seat. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson Mr. Christopher Columbus Sailed the sea without a compass Well, when his men began a rumpus Up spoke Christopher Columbus He said, “There is land somewhere So until we get there we will not go wrong If we sing a swing song Since the world is round, we’ll ...

This emblematic mammal did not survive to Taíno times. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson The sloth is the stupidest animal that can be found in the world, and is so awkward and slow in movement that it would require a whole day to go fifty paces.1 Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, 1526 This is not the preface ...

Developing a sea ethic. By Richard Plate and Marta Calosso ~ Photos By Marta Calosso In 2008 we wrote an article for Times of the Island providing an introduction to Aldo Leopold’s land ethic. Briefly, Leopold suggested that humans increase their sense of ethics to include “soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.” The article ...

Adventures in the TCI’s Salt Islands. Story & Photos By Ramona Settle Admit it. You arrive on Providenciales, get one breathtaking glimpse of Grace Bay Beach, and feel like you’ll stay put. You think it can’t get better than this. Other than an excursion to one of the cays, you won’t venture far.  I can tell you ...

Whether Indian or archaeologist, transportation can be a challenge. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson If there be any earthly Paradyse in the worlde, it can not be farre from these regions of the south, where the heaven is so beneficiall and the elements so temperate that they are neither bitten with the coulde in winter, nor ...

Marine creatures may or may not have a sense of humor, but sometimes they’re downright funny! Story by Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos and Captions by Barbara Shively Make no mistake: Scuba diving is serious business. To get certified, you have to study a fair bit of science, including the physics of gases, and be able to calculate ...

The whys and hows of a fish’s favorite group activity. Story by Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos and Captions by Barbara Shively “United we swim, divided we fall prey” might be how a fish would paraphrase the well-known American sentiment (which was not, for the record, originally uttered by the 16th president, though it was he who most ...

This tasty gastropod has been a part of TCI life since Taino times. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson Anacacuya was the brother-in-law of Guahayona, And he went with him, setting upon the sea. Guahayona said to Anacacuya when they were in the canoe: “Look at the beautiful cobo that is in the water.” And when Anacacuya looked down ...