A.

The Indigenous People of the

Americas.
Specific Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. describe the migration of indigenous peoples to the Americas and the

Caribbean territories (through North, Central and South America) and their
interactions.
Migration to the New World
● The first people to inhabit the Caribbean region were the Indigenous Peoples or the
Pre- Columbian Indians as they are also called.
● Most people believe that the first inhabitants came to the Americas from Asia between
15-20 000 years ago.
● This was during the Fourth Ice Age when large parts of the earth were covered with
ice and the oceans and lakes were frozen. All this time, the Bering Strait (the narrow
stretch of water which separating Alaska from the coast of Siberia in north-eastern
Asia) was said to be forming an ‘’Ice Bridge’’.
Early man depended on animals for food
and clothing especially since the Ice Age
had cause fruits and herbs to become
scarce. These hunters were nomadic so
they travelled from place to place in search
of food and shelter. These hunters were
following herds of animals like
mammoths, deer and caribou without
knowing that they were crossing from one
continent to another. These Asian migrants
are usually referred to as Mongoloids since
they came from Mongolia in Central Asia.
Settlement Patterns in the Americas
The Asian migrants settled in North America and continued to hunt. As time
passed, these people developed a way of life and also many languages.

● They lived in small family units and made their homes from the skins of the
animals they hunted. Their homes are called tents.

● During the next thousands of years, they wandered in many directions. Those
who occupied the same area, spoke the same language, and shared a
common language are said to belong to a tribe
Some Amerindians lived in Eastern Canada
(Mohawk) while some occupied the bleak and
barren Arctic regions. They were known as
Eskimos. In North America, the Amerindians
settled in areas such as the Florida Peninsula and
Alaska. Some also settled in the Prairies of the
Great Plains (Red Indians). The Incas settled in
countries such as Chile, Argentina, Nicaragua,
and Peru. The Aztecs settled in Mexico while the
Maya settled in the Yucatan Peninsula,
Guatemala, Honduras, parts of Belize, El
Salvador, and Southern Mexico. The Mayas, Incas
and Aztecs each developed civilizations which
flourished and they are known as Mesoamericans.
Settlement Patterns in the Caribbean
● The first group of Amerindians to arrive in the Caribbean were the Ciboney who
settled mainly in Cuba. They migrated northwards from Suriname, Eastern Venezuela
and Guyana in South America.
● Sometime afterwards, the Ciboney were followed by the Tainos (Arawaks) and
Kalinagos (Caribs)
 The Taino
The Kalinago
● The Tainos’ original homeland was in the
● The Kalinagos followed the Tainos into the
forest between the Orinoco and Amazon
Caribbean. They lived further south in the
Rivers in South America. They travelled in
jungles around the Orinoco. They also moved
large canoes and usually settled on each island
from island to island. At each one, they fought
they encountered. Then after a few years, some
the Tainos and pushed them out and
would move onto another island. The Arawaks
established themselves on the island.
were divided into two principle tribes which
are the Lucayos in the Bahamas and the Tainos
in the Greater Antilles.
The Tainos fleeing from their enemies, the Kalinagos, crossed into Trinidad and continued to move
further up the island chain. By the time the Europeans arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, the Tainos
occupied mainly the islands of the Greater Antilles which are Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola and
Jamaica. They also occupied the Bahamas and Barbados. The Kalinagos occupied mainly the islands
of the Lesser Antilles such as Trinidad, Dominica and St. Vincent. Trinidad and Puerto Rico were
occupied by both the Tainos and Kalinagos. The Tainos and Kalinagos in the Caribbean did not
develop great civilizations like the Maya or Inca, rather they have been labelled as ‘’primitive’’ in
terms of culture. The Amerindians dominated the region up until the arrival of the Europeans in 1492.
The coming of the Europeans saw drastic changes in the way of life of the Amerindians and ensured
their near-extermination.