What did the Arawak do?

What did the Arawak do?

The Antillean Arawak, or Taino, were agriculturists who lived in villages, some with as many as 3,000 inhabitants, and practiced slash-and-burn cultivation of cassava and corn (maize). They recognized social rank and gave great deference to theocratic chiefs.

What did the Arawaks make?

The Arawak used clay to make pottery, sometimes decorated with white motifs of animals and birds. They also developed weaving techniques and produced baskets from palm fibers. Cotton was used for crafting fishing nets and hammocks for sleeping.

What animals did the Arawaks hunt?

The Arawaks hunted small animals like the utia (a kind of coney), the agouti and the iguana whose meat they enjoyed. To help them hunt, they had small dogs called alcos which could not bark, but made a growling noise. These dogs were the Arawaks’ only domestic animal.

Are Arawaks still alive?

There are around 10,000 Arawak people still alive today, and more than 500,000 people from related Arawakan cultures such as Guajiro. What language do the Arawaks speak? Many of them speak their native Arawak language, also known as Lokono.

Are Tainos and Arawaks same?

The Taíno were an Arawak people who were the indigenous people of the Caribbean and Florida. In the Greater Antilles, the northern Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas, they were known as the Lucayans and spoke the Taíno language, a derivative of the the Arawakan languages.

Are the Arawaks extinct?

It is noted that the Arawak people (indigenous people of the Caribbean, northern South America, Central America, and southern North America) are generally viewed to be extinct.

Why did the Arawaks flatten their heads?

Their heads were flattened at the foreheads as babies when the skull was bound between two boards. This elongated head was considered as a mark of beauty. This may have been done to thicken the skull thus it could withstand heavy blows. Tales were told of Spaniards who broke their swords on Arawak heads.

What religion did the Arawaks follow?

The Arawak/Taíno were polytheists and their gods were called Zemi.

What killed the Tainos?

smallpox
For instance, a smallpox epidemic in Hispaniola in 1518–1519 killed almost 90% of the surviving Taíno. The remaining Taíno intermarried with Europeans and Africans, and became incorporated into the Spanish colonies. The Taíno were considered extinct as a people at the end of the century.

Who are the Arawak Indians of Hispaniola?

The Taino, an Arawak subgroup, were the first native peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola. The island Arawak were virtually wiped out by the combination of Old World diseases and Spanish violence and oppression. Arawak, American Indians of the Greater Antilles and South America.

How did the Arawak people get wiped out?

It was long held that the island Arawak were virtually wiped out by Old World diseases to which they had no immunity (seeColumbian Exchange), but more recent scholarship has emphasized the role played by Spanish violence, brutality, and oppression (including enslavement) in their demise.

What did the cacique do in the Arawak tribe?

The Cacique was paid a tribute (tax) to oversee the village. There were other levels of sub-caciques, who were not paid, but did hold positions of honor. These assistants to the Cacique were liable for various services to the village and the leader himself.

What kind of art did the Arawak Indians make?

Arawak cave art using petrography and pictography illustrate the importance of symbolism in their culture and religion. The Arawak tattooed themselves with images of their deities, and also created cave art to the gods Mautiatibuel and Cohoba, and many others as well.