Ancient sea turtle (Chelonioidea) ZooMS identifications illuminate species-specific human interactions and long-term populations changes for Curaçao and Bonaire

Caribbean sea turtle histories are deeply intertwined with past human societies, with zooarchaeological evidence suggesting their dietary and socio-cultural importance from as early as 3370 BCE. However, the high fragmentation typical of archaeological sea turtle bones has generally limited morphological identifications to higher taxonomic levels, hindering species-specific assessments of interaction with humans and their legacy effects. We applied ZooMS to 87 highly fragmented sea turtle specimens from seven archaeological sites in the arid, tropical Caribbean islands of Curaçao and Bonaire, spanning 2310 BCE to the 19th century, to reconstruct past sea turtle species richness, relative abundance, and human influences on sea turtle populations. Our results provide long-term evidence for human interactions with green ( Chelonia mydas ), hawksbill ( Eretmochelys imbricata ), and loggerhead ( Caretta caretta ) turtles. Comparisons with ZooMS results from the Caribbean and immediate wider area demonstrate overall high identification rates for green turtles and negative evidence for leatherbacks, while also indicating intraregional differences in loggerhead and hawksbill presence. These findings suggest human engagement with specific turtle species predicated on interacting cultural (e.g., taste preferences) and natural (e.g., abundance, nest site availability) variables. We recommend that future investigations combine increased ZooMS sampling and paleogenetic analyses to support robust reconstructions of long-term human-turtle interactions to produce data with applied value to modern sea turtle conservation.