It was the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean islands that Columbus first
encountered in the New World, and to whom the very name "Indian" was bestowed.
These natives spoke the South American based Arawak language, and their customs,
material goods and technologies, as well as domesticated food plants, also
pretty much derived from northern South America. Archaeologists have traced
migrations of cultures northward through the volcanic Lesser Antilles to the
large islands comprising the Greater Antilles, in addition to the Bahamas.
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Click on thumbnails for a larger view and discussion of the image.
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SHELL SKULL OF DOG GOD
Lesser Antilles, Antigua
A.D. 500-1500
Carved strombus shell
Ht. 7.5 cm (3")
90.22.0.12
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EFFIGY BONE VOMITIVE SPATULA
Greater Antilles
Taino
A.D. 700-1500
Carved manatee rib
L. 27 cm (10")
Kislak PC 0186
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CEREMONIAL WOODEN STOOL ("DUHO")
Haiti
Taino
A.D. 1000-1500
Carved lignum vitae
L. 38 cm (15")
Kislak PC 0103
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SHELL MASKETTE WITH BEARDED FACE
Lesser Antilles, Antigua
A.D. 700-1500
Carved seashell
Polychromed orange gloss ceramic
Ht. 7 cm (2")
Kislak PC 0098
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STONE DOG HEAD SNUFFING DEVICE
Caribbean. Collected in Barbuda, Lesser Antilles, but probably made in the Dominican Republic
Taino
A.D. 700-1500
Tan steatite (stone)
Ht. 14.7 cm
Published: Olsen, 1974 (fig. 30)
Kislak PC 0106
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CEREMONIAL FISH-EFFIGY STONE AXE
Lesser Antilles
Taino
A.D. 100-1500
Gray volcanic stone
L. 36.8 cm
Published: Olsen, 1974 (fig. 79)
Kislak PC 0102
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TRI-CORNERED ZEMI STONE
Puerto Rico
Taino
A.D. 700-1500
L. 31 cm
Published: Easby and Scott, 1970 (item 244); Olsen, 1974 (fig. 20)
Kislak PC 0107
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BALLGAME STONE HIP BELT
Puerto Rico
Taino
A.D. 700-1500
Stone
L. 50.8 cm
Kislak PC 0108
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references
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Author information: Justin Kerr, Lee Parsons
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