When Columbus arrived to the New World in 1492, the Spaniards initiated a process of familiarization to the land and of contestation of it against the indigenous populations. This transformation is studied by exploring human use of space. To investigate this, we configured a regional archaeological survey on the Montecristi Province (Northwestern Dominican Republic) and evaluated early colonial cartography and chronicles of the area. During fieldwork in 2014-2015, We registered over 100 archaeological sites, and materials that evidence a wide range of human activities and practices. Then, by using archaeological and statistical methods, this data was used to understand the distributional patterns of material culture and settlements on the island. In addition, we explored the relation between these patterns with a set of environmental features to understand the creation of places human movement, and general spatial practices for both the indigenous and the Spaniards. This research has allow us to understand (1) the dynamics of movement, the creation of place and different spatial practices which sustain the ways of making the landscape for each group, and (2) the elements that evidence the cultural transformation of landscape along the historical divide of 1492 as a result of this clash of worlds.

This dataset was created during fieldwork campaigns between 2014 and 2015 in the coastal area of the Montecristi province in current northwestern Dominican Republic. Fieldwork consisted of a regional survey, material culture registry and collection, test pit excavation, and procuring and processing relevant environmental variables. The archaeological data consists of a record of 102 archaeological sites, the material culture associated with them (lithic, shell and coral objects, shell mollusk species), and the relation between the site location and a set of relevant environmental variables used for statistical analysis.This reseach was carried out as part of European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) NEXUS1492, ERC grant agreement no 319209.