Prehistoric AmericasThe First Civilizations of The Caribbean

Before Christopher Columbus Some ancient

village sites in Caribbean dated as far back as 6000 BC

Earliest evidence in Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico

Island Populations Shell and stone tools

dated 2,000 BC

Bone and shell jewelry dated 800 BC

Three distinct tribes: • Saladoid• Taino• Carib

The Saladoid Originated from

mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela

Occupied Trinidad and then the Greater Antilles

Named for origins in Saladero, Venezuela

The Saladoid Introduced pottery,

tools and agriculture to hunter/gatherer tribes

Absorbed most tribes in these areas

Became an integrated community throughout islands

The Taino Saladoid advanced into

Taino culture in 1200 BC

culture on Hispaniola further developed agriculture to include cotton

body painting, piercing and headdresses developed

First to developed gold-copper-silver alloys

The Taino Expert woodworkers and stone carvers

Women had high status as their bloodlines determined chiefs

Created first communal houses, central plazas and ball-courts

The Taino Created their own gods

called Zemis

Zemis encompassed spiritual, cosmic, ancestral and supernatural

They were the tribe first encountered by Christopher Columbus in 1492

The Caribs Late arrivals to the

Caribbean ~1400’s

Colonized the Lesser Antilles

Close trading relations with mainland South America

Developed fishing techniques of hooks, nets and harpoons

The Caribs A more basic society

Less hierarchy, religion and less sophisticated crafts and tools than Taino

Wore jewelry of stone and wood to protect against evil spirits – mabouya

Petroglyphs give evidence to these accounts

The Caribs Accused of cannibalism

by Taino

Allowed Columbus to define the savagery of the natives

Most incorrect impressions and misunderstandings of Amerindians in South and Central America began in the Caribbean.

Prehistoric AmericasThe First Civilizations of The Caribbean