"Organized by the Virgin Islands Humanities Council."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-248) and index

1. Introduction to the study of the indigenous people of the Caribbean / Samuel M. Wilson -- pt. 1. Background to the archaeology and ethnohistory of the Caribbean: The study of aboriginal peoples: multiple ways of knowing / Ricardo Alegría. The Lesser Antilles before Columbus / Louis Allaire -- pt. 2. The encounter: The biological impacts of 1492 / Richard L. Cunningham. The Salt River, St. Croix, at the time of the encounter / Birgit Faber Morse. European views of the aboriginal population / Alissandra Cummins -- pt. 3. The first migration of village farmers, 500 B.C. to A.D. 800: Settlement strategies in the early Ceramic Age / Jay B. Haviser. The ceramics, art, and material culture of the early Ceramic Period in the Caribbean Islands / Elizabeth Righter. Religious beliefs of the Saladoid people / Miguel Rodríguez. Maritime trade in the prehistoric eastern Caribbean / David R. Watters. Notes on ancient Caribbean art and mythology / Henry Petitjean Roget -- pt. 4. The Taino of the Greater Antilles on the eve of conquest: "No man [or woman] is an island": Elements of Taino social organization / William F. Keegan. Taino, Island Carib, and prehistoric Amerindian economies in the West Indies: tropical forest adaptations to island environments / James B. Petersen. The material culture of the Taino Indians / Ignacio Olazagasti. The Taino cosmos / José R. Oliver. Some observations on the Taino language / Arnold R. Highfield. The Taino vision: a study in the exchange of misunderstanding / Henry Petitjean Roget -- pt. 5. The Island Caribs of the Lesser Antilles: The Caribs of the Lesser Antilles / Louis Allaire. Language and gender among the Kalingo of fifteenth-century St. Croix / Vincent O. Cooper

pt. 6. Indigenous resistance and survival: The Garifuna of Central America / Nancie L. Gonzalez. The legacy of the indigenous people of the Caribbean / Samuel M. Wilson. Five hundred years of indigenous resistance / Garnette Joseph

"This 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."--Jacket

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