A survey of the current state of study of indigenous Caribbean people by archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists. . . . Emphasizes that even though indigenous people were the victims of genocide, they helped to establish a persistent pattern of relations between other Caribbean settlers and their environment, and became central symbols of Caribbean identity and resistance to colonialism. . . . Strongly recommended for every library concerned with Caribbean and native American studies."-Choice"An excellent introduction to native peoples of the Caribbean region. . . . Will be useful to anthropologists, historians, and other social scientists working in the Caribbean."-Jerald T. Milanich, Florida Museum of Natural HistoryThis volume brings together nineteen Caribbean specialists to produce the first general introduction to the indigenous peoples of that region. Writing for both general and academic audiences, contributors provide an authoritative, up-to-date picture of these fascinating peoples-their social organization, religion, language, lifeways, and contribution to the culture of their modern descendants-in what is ultimately a comprehensive reader on Caribbean archaeology, ethnohistory, and ethnology. CONTENTS1. Introduction, Samuel M. WilsonPart 1: Background to the Archaeology and Ethnohistory of the Caribbean2. The Study of Aboriginal Peoples: Multiple Ways of Knowing, Ricardo Alegría3. The Lesser Antilles Before Columbus, Louis AllairePart 2: The Encounter4. The Biological Impacts of 1492, Richard L. Cunningham5. The Salt River Site, St. Croix, at the Time of the Encounter, Birgit Faber Morse6. European Views of the Aboriginal Population, Alissandra CumminsPart 3: The First Migration of Village Farmers, 500 B. C. to A. D. 8007. Settlement Strategies in the Early Ceramic Age, Jay B. Haviser8. The Ceramics, Art, and Material Culture of the Early Ceramic Period in the Caribbean Islands, Elizabeth Righter9. Religious Beliefs of the Saladoid People, Miguel Rodríguez10. Maritime Trade in the Prehistoric Eastern Caribbean, David R. Watters11. Notes on Ancient Caribbean Art and Mythology, Henry Petitjean RogetPart 4: The Taino of the Greater Antilles on the Eve of Conquest12. "No Man (or Woman) Is an Island": Elements of Taino Social Organization, William F. Keegan13. Taino, Island Carib, and Prehistoric Amerindian Economies in the West Indies: Tropical Forest Adaptations to Island Environments, James B. Petersen14. The Material Culture of the Taino Indians, Ignacio Olazagasti15. The Taino Cosmos, José R. Oliver16. Some Observations on the Taino Language, Arnold R. Highfield17. The Taino Vision: A Study in the Exchange of Misunderstanding, Henry Petitjean RogetPart 5: The Island Caribs of the Lesser Antilles18. The Caribs of the Lesser Antilles, Louis Allaire19. Language and Gender among the Kalinago of 15th Century St. Croix, Vincent O. CooperPart 6: Indigenous Resistance and Survival20. The Garifuna of Central America, Nancie L. Gonzalez21. The Legacy of the Indigenous People of the Caribbean, Samuel M. Wilson22. Five Hundred Years of Indigenous Resistance, Garnette JosephSamuel M. Wilson is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin. He is author of Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus (1990), coeditor of Ethnohistory and Archaeology: Approaches to Postcontact Change in the Americas (1993), and a contributing editor and columnist for Natural History magazine. | The Indigenous People of the Caribbean by Samuel L. Wilson, Paperback | Indigo Chapters