The Caribbean islands witnessed a population expansion of horti-ceramicists during the Early Ceramic Age (ca. 500 BC to 750 AD) from the Orinoco Valley to Puerto Rico. Our study focused on 18 lithic artefacts from 7 archaeological sites in Guadeloupe and Dominica, initially thought to be obsidian, a material believed to be absent from the West Indies. We investigated the volcanic or meteoritic origin of this unique and yet unknown material through observation (binocular, SEM, microtomography) and geochemical analyses (PIXE, SEM-EDS, ED-XRF, EPMA, LA-ICP-MS). Elementary analyses appear to refute the hypothesis of a meteoritic impact origin (i.e. identification as tektites). Most of the artefacts have an andesitic composition (< 63% SiO2), which appears to be absolutely unique among 'massive' glasses. The only artifact with a rhyolitic composition, which is more typical for natural glass, has been traced back to Guadeloupe's Volcan du Tuf, where glassy fragments were collected and analysed. The geological source of the other vitreous artefacts that exhibit an andesitic composition remains unknown, despite our efforts to search for the source in the south-western region of Guadeloupe. Geochemical data suggest that it is possible that they could originate from a sub-local subduction-arc volcanism (perhaps from Martinique), although no volcanic vitreous material of this kind has ever been reported worldwide. These results once again highlight the regional mobility of Early Ceramic populations, the production of standard lithic products using a highly original, albeit low-quality, local lithic resource, and provide valuable references for future identification of similar materials.< Réduire