The Caribbean Sea is a body of water located off the eastern coasts of South and Central America. Within it lies several islands collectively called the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands. Today these islands are known as romantic vacation spots: but Caribbean history and archaeology is quite ancient, with its first human occupations some 7,000 years ago.
Caguana Petroglyphs, Caguana Indian Ceremonial Park, Puerto Rico. Photo by Katka Nemcokova
Caribbean history begins with hunter-gatherers, whose earliest evidence has been found at sites such as Levisa Cave on Cuba, and Banwari Trace shell midden on Trinidad. The first villages were established on the islands between 1 BC-AD 600, and, by AD 1200, the important Taíno chiefdoms had arisen, at sites such as Maisabel and Caguana on Puerto Rico and El Atadijizo in the Dominican Republic. The Taíno were the first American people to meet Christopher Columbus, whose second voyage established the first (and failed) European town in the new world, La Isabela.
Read More about Caribbean History
Recently, About.com Archaeology's contributing writer Nicoletta Maestri compiled a number of great resources on the history of this beautiful land- and sea-scape.
About.com's Guide to Caribbean History
Caribbean Archaeological Sites
- Cuba: Los Buchillones, Levisa
- Dominican Republic: El Atadijizo, La Isabela, Chacuey
- Puerto Rico: Maisabel, Caguana
- Virgin Islands: Krum Bay
- Trinidad: Banwari Trace
- Antigua: Jolly Beach
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