Chapter 8- tainos.docx

Chapter 8: The First Inhabitants (p. 146-155) Thursday, February 22 History and Its Importance History: discipline that studies events that happened in the past. The three sciences that help us understand history: Archeology: science that studies ancient societies from their material remains, such a...

Chapter 8: The First Inhabitants (p. 146-155) Thursday, February 22 History and Its Importance History: discipline that studies events that happened in the past. The three sciences that help us understand history: Archeology: science that studies ancient societies from their material remains, such as bone, pieces of pottery, or the ruins of buildings. Anthropology: sciences that studies how human cultures and society develops. Chronology: science that order events according to date on which occurred. Calendar: which allows people to organize the passage of time into weeks, months, and years. Before Christ (BC): pre-Christian era. Anno Domini (AC): Christian era. The First Inhabitants Archaic and their lifestyle First settlers in the Caribbean Travelled the Antilles by canoe. Seminomadic (a community that moves from place to place as necessary but has a permanent house). They build their settlement (place where community is established) close to beaches and mangroves. Lived in caves and made houses of stone, wood, and straw. Hunted and fished. Gathered snails, crustaceans, wild fruits, seeds, and root to eat. Used stones, shells, and bones as tools. Not sure if they knew agriculture or pottery (craft and technique of making objects from clay). Arawaks and their lifestyles Come mainly from South America. Sedentary (a group of people who settle permanently in one place). Lived in villages and build towns. Agroceramic (know agriculture and pottery) Cultivated corn and tubers. Make casabe (bread of yucca). Belonged to different groups: Huecoids: Agroceramic Settle in the Caribbean. Named after La Hueca sector in Vieques. Came from the northeast coat of South America (Andes Region). Did not used paint on their ceramics. Andean condor. Saladoid: Came from Orinoco River in Venezuela. Their pottery has elaborated technique and high quality. Used red and white paint. Built village with oval shaped houses. Caught and ate terrestrial crab. Ostionoids and their plazas and agricultural techniques Also known as Pre-tainos More complex culture Sedentary Agroceramic Built the ceremonial plazas adorned with petroglyphs (drawings carved into stone) and pictographs (drawings painted onto the stone). Built two types of villages: Central plaza surrounded by homes. Village with houses on the seafront or riverbank. Slash and burn: agricultural technique to improve soil fertility. Planting on montones (small mounds of soil). Planting on terraces (creating steps into the sides of hills and mountain to retain moisture). Tainos in Puerto Rico Indigenous name for our island: Borikén How do we know information about the Tainos? They did not develop a writing system. What we know is thanks to the analysis and interpretation of researchers. We also have chronicles (documents wrote by Europeans who came America during conquest and colonization) General characteristics of Taínos Sedentary Agroceramic NO writing system NO calendars Social and cultural complex based on family. Organized in tribes (family groups who shared customs, beliefs, and needs). Lived in yucayeques (small villages). Yucayeques where made of: A Caney: residence of the chiefs and their families. Rectangular houses with open spaces in the walls. A batey: central plaza for ceremonies and ball game. Bohios: ordinary houses for the rest of the tribe. Round shape with conical roofs and no windows. Political and social organization: Caciques: chiefs of Taino tribes matrilineal kinship (maternal side of family) The succession passed to the first child of the cacique’s oldest sister. Use a guanin: Garment was a disk hung around his neck. Made from gold and cooper. Sat in a dujo (special chair used during ceremonies and rituals). Nitaino: most political power and warriors. Behique: healers and those in charge of ceremonies and transmitting taino knowledge. Naboria: workers ** Taino wore naguas (cotton loincloth), adorned themselves with necklaces of colored stone, animal teeth, and snails. Also wore bracelets, and pendants in their ears and nose. Decorate their bodies with paint. The designs they painted on their bodies allow them to identify the tribe and social hierarchy (organization by categories or levels in order of importance). Taino lifestyle: The Taíno diet included a variety of foods such as peppers, tobacco, cotton, peanuts, corn, papaya, pineapple, guava, mamey, and root vegetables like sweet potato, arrowroot, and yucca. They farmed using conucos—agricultural plots utilizing traditional slash and burn techniques, montontes, and terraces. For planting, they used a pointed stick tool called a coa. The Taíno hunted animals like hutia and iguana, gathered wild fruits, and fished for crustaceans, mollusks, fish, turtles, and manatees. They crafted canoes from tree trunks for inter-island travel and trade. Casabe, was made from yucca and cooked on a clay griddle known as a buren, a food item still found in some markets today. Taino beliefs and rituals: Taíno mythology encompassed creation stories and the existence of gods and other beings, with an animistic belief that all things have a spirit. Cemíes were carved figures symbolizing these gods or spirits, representing a spiritual force in everything. Key deities included Yucahú, the chief male god; Atabey, the mother goddess of water; and Guabancex, the hurricane goddess. Ceremonial practices included the areito, with singing and dancing for communal events, and the cojoba, where participants inhaled seed powder to facilitate spiritual communication. Our Indigenous Heritage: The Taíno legacy in modern culture includes vocabulary such as 'guïro,' 'mabí,' 'arepa,' 'hurricane,' 'ceiba,' 'guanábana,' and 'comején.' Some town names are of Taíno origin. Cultural items like the hammock persist, as does 'casabe,' a yucca bread. Indigenous medicinal plant knowledge remains in use. Emphasizing the significance of this heritage is crucial for its preservation for future generations. Batu (class discussion) The Taíno game of batú, also known as batey, was a significant ball game for the Taíno people in the Caribbean, blending sport and ceremony. Played without using hands or feet, players struck a solid rubber ball with their bodies in a stone-marked court called a batey. The game, which could include two teams, was steeped in ritual, with implications for cosmology and social harmony, and the results were often seen as divine messages. Multiple Choice Questions What is archeology? A) The study of numbers. B) The study of the universe. C) The study of ancient societies from material remains. D) The study of languages. The science that studies how human cultures and societies develop is called: A) Biology. B) Chronology. C) Anthropology. D) Archeology. What does BC stand for? A) Before Calculus. B) Before Christ. C) Before Coffee. D) Before Civilization. What is the indigenous name for Puerto Rico? A) Hispaniola. B) Borikén. C) Arawak. D) Guanahani. The Taínos did not have: A) A writing system. B) Agriculture. C) Boats. D) Houses. What is a Caney? A) A ceremonial dance. B) A type of canoe. C) The residence of the chiefs. D) A farming tool. What does 'sedentary' mean in the context of ancient peoples? A) They hunted for food. B) They traveled by canoe. C) They settled permanently in one place. D) They moved frequently from place to place. Which group used red and white paint in their pottery? A) Huecoids. B) Ostionoids. C) Saladoid. D) Taínos. What is a batey? A) A type of food. B) A central plaza for ceremonies and the ball game. C) A farming method. D) A canoe. Which of the following did the Taínos cultivate? A) Wheat. B) Corn and tubers. C) Rice. D) Olives. The Taíno game of batú was played with: A) Sticks. B) Hands and feet. C) A solid rubber ball struck with the body. D) Stones. What is a guanin? A) A type of canoe. B) A disk worn around the neck by chiefs. C) A traditional dance. D) A planting technique. Who were the behique? A) Workers. B) Warriors. C) Healers and spiritual leaders. D) Chiefs. What is a bohio? A) A stone tool. B) An ordinary house in a yucayeque. C) A ceremonial drink. D) A type of canoe. The Taíno chief male god was called: A) Atabey. B) Guabancex. C) Yucahú. D) Coa. The term "Agroceramic" means of the Taíno people: A) Agropecuary and painting B) Agriculture and jewelry C) Agriculture and potterry What is montones? Small mound of soil developed by Osteoids. Small mound of soil developed by Osteoids Where were the petroglyphs and pictographs? Central plaza of Osteoids Central plaza of Tainos True or False Archeology is the study of planets. ____ The Taínos were known for their elaborate writing system. ____ The Taínos lived in caves and made houses of stone, wood, and straw. ____ The Huecoids came from the Andes region of South America. ____ Ostionoids are also known as Pre-tainos. ____ The Taínos used a calendar similar to the one we use today. ____ A yucayeque was a large city where the Taínos lived. ____ The Taínos made casabe, a bread made from yucca. ____ The Taínos believed in a single god. ____ The game of batú had no spiritual or ritual significance. ____ Political and social organization of tainos Order of First Inhabitants _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ ____________________________ Match Column A Discipline that studies past events. Science that studies human cultures. Pre-Christian era. The first settlers in the Caribbean. A community that moves from place to place. A group of people who settle permanently in one place. The indigenous name for the island of Puerto Rico. A type of house where the chiefs of the Taino tribes lived. The Taino game known as batey. The mother goddess of water in Taíno mythology. A yucca bread still found in some markets today. The Taínos crafted these from tree trunks for travel and trade. The Taíno used this tool for planting. The Taíno word for hurricane. Round shape houses with conical roofs and no windows. Ceremonial practice Christian Era Technique of making objects with clay. Drawings carved into stone. Drawings painted onto the stone. Special chair used by cacique. Disk hanged around cacique’s neck. Small loincloth made with cotton. Agricultural plots Participants inhaled seed powder. Cultural item from tainos. Column B Hammock____ Anthropology ____ Areito ____ Caney ____ Casabe ____ Dujo ____ Archaic ____ Sedentary ____ Naguas ____ Canoes ____ Bohios ____ Petroglyphs ____ Guanin ____ pictographs ____ Coa ____ Conuco ____ Before Christ (BC) ____ Anno Domini (AD) ____ History ____ Seminomadic ____ Atabey ____ Guabancex ____ Batu ____ Pottery ____ Cojoba ____ Borikén ____