The mysterious people of the Caribbean

[Zorro]

A rare archaeological discovery on the Dominican Republic's secluded Samaná Peninsula could unlock the mystery behind the Caribbean's little-known pre-Arawak past.

You wouldn't think of the overtrodden Dominican Republic as a cutting-edge archaeology destination. Yet hidden beneath the beach cabanas are likely clues to a pre-Columbian mystery that's been perplexing anthropologists for centuries: who actually discovered the Caribbean?

When Columbus arrived on Hispaniola in the 15th Century, he encountered the Taíno, an Arawakan-speaking people who came from the Orinoco Delta of present-day Venezuela, emigrating as early as 400 BCE. While it is often assumed that the Taíno were the "original" inhabitants of the Caribbean, particularly the Greater Antilles, other peoples had already been living there for several thousand years.

These little-known first inhabitants of Hispaniola are known as the "Archaic" peoples, characterised by their usage of stone tools (and the "Ceramic Age" Taíno by their creation of ceramics). The term generalises a diverse group of prehistoric peoples whose languages and names for themselves are unknown.

However, a recent discovery by a team of Italian and Dominican archaeologists on the Dominican Republic's secluded Samaná Peninsula, could change our understanding of who they were and where they came from.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220322-the-mysterious-people-of-the-caribbean

[wnylib]

1. KNR.

[secondwind]

2. Telling my daughter about this tomorrow. She's worked

here in Dominican Republic before. She’s an archeologist ………. my gut tells me she may already know about this..

[electric_blue68]

3. Interesting!

[Karadeniz]

4. Fascinating!