The prehistory of the Lesser Antilles has been defined by research conducted on the larger islands; particularly the higher, fertile, volcanic islands that present a wide diversity of natural resources.  As a result it is believed that the smaller, arid, flat limestone islands were ignored; bypassed in the initial period of migration and settlement ca. 500 BC through the Caribbean archipelago.  For these seemingly dry islands could not sustain sedentary settlements.

Recent archaeological findings by the Brooklyn College Department of Anthropology and Archaeology coupled with previous transect studies on the island of Barbuda present a different light on this long standing assumption

From an environmental perspective, the limestone island of Barbuda, sister island to Antigua, is an attractive and vital settlement option.  The island has the richest marine ecosystem in the region.  It has a high water table with abundant sources of fresh water beneath its sandy and rocky limestone surface.  Numerous sinkholes, caverns and a large protected lagoon with an extensive mangrove system offer a diversity of habitat zones for exploitation