The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: The Tainos

• Crossed the Bering Strait around 18, 000 years ago• This was during the last Ice Age• An “ice bridge” was created

across the strait• Earlier groups were pushed

further south by later groups• The first of these groups

followed herds of caribou, buffalo, and seals as the animals move from one feeding ground to the next

Migratory Patterns of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

• Located in the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Trinidad• Migrated from South America • Generally on the run from the Kalinagos

The Tainos: Location

Lived in temporary houses Houses were round with steep thatched

roofs The chief’s house was rectangular and held

several rooms Villages had separate dwellings for the gods Some villages had a ball court where the

game batos was played

The Tainos: Social Organization

• Religion involved nature worship, ancestor worship and protective magic

• Believed in male sky-god and a female earth-god

• Many other nature gods and ancestral spirits• Gods represented by zemis• Tainos also believed in life after death

The Tainos: Religious Organization

Village was the home of related people Property, land, food, canoes and tools wee

owned in common There was division of work between men

and women Women plant crops, and did the cooking Men prepared the fields, hunted, and fished

The Tainos: Social Organization

The cacique was the leader of the Taino The position was hereditary The cacique was:

◦ a religious leader◦ A judge

The cacique was helped by nobles or nitayanos

He was honoured with the best food and several wives

The Tainos: Political Organization

• Tainos were subsistence farmers• Engaged in “slash and burn” agriculture• Produced a variety of crops that included:–Maize–Cassava– Sweet potatoes–Cotton– Tobacco

• Fishing and hunting was also important

The Tainos: Economic Organization

Pottery was made from local red and gray clay

Tools and weapons were made from wood, stone and shell

Excellent at basket weaving Skillful at building dugout canoes

The Tainos: Technology