Caciques and Cemi Idols

Caciques and Cemi Idols
Title Caciques and Cemi Idols PDF eBook
Author José R. Oliver
Publisher University of Alabama Press
Pages 328
Release 2009-05-10
Genre History
ISBN 0817355154

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Takes a close look at the relationship between humans and other (non-human) beings that are imbued with cemí power, specifically within the Taíno inter-island cultural sphere encompassing Puerto Rico and Hispaniola Cemís are both portable artifacts and embodiments of persons or spirit, which the Taínos and other natives of the Greater Antilles (ca. AD 1000-1550) regarded as numinous beings with supernatural or magic powers. This volume takes a close look at the relationship between humans and other (non-human) beings that are imbued with cemí power, specifically within the Taíno inter-island cultural sphere encompassing Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. The relationships address the important questions of identity and personhood of the cemí icons and their human “owners” and the implications of cemí gift-giving and gift-taking that sustains a complex web of relationships between caciques (chiefs) of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Oliver provides a careful analysis of the four major forms of cemís—three-pointed stones, large stone heads, stone collars, and elbow stones—as well as face masks, which provide an interesting contrast to the stone heads. He finds evidence for his interpretation of human and cemí interactions from a critical review of 16th-century Spanish ethnohistoric documents, especially the Relación Acerca de las Antigüedades de los Indios written by Friar Ramón Pané in 1497–1498 under orders from Christopher Columbus. Buttressed by examples of native resistance and syncretism, the volume discusses the iconoclastic conflicts and the relationship between the icons and the human beings. Focusing on this and on the various contexts in which the relationships were enacted, Oliver reveals how the cemís were central to the exercise of native political power. Such cemís were considered a direct threat to the hegemony of the Spanish conquerors, as these potent objects were seen as allies in the native resistance to the onslaught of Christendom with its icons of saints and virgins.

Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies

Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies
Title Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies PDF eBook
Author Sven Loven
Publisher University of Alabama Press
Pages 731
Release 2010-06-27
Genre History
ISBN 0817356371

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When originally published in German in 1924, this volume was hailed as the first modern, comprehensive archaeological overview of an emerging area of the world, now known as the Caribbean islands. Sven Loven decided to update and reissue the work in English, which he thought to be the future international language of scholarship. This work is a classic, with enduring interpretations, broad geographic range, and an eager audience.

The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Archaeology

The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Archaeology
Title The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Archaeology PDF eBook
Author William F. Keegan
Publisher Oxford University Press
Pages 617
Release 2013-03-21
Genre History
ISBN 0195392302

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This volume brings together examples of the best research to address the complexity of the Caribbean past.

Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology

Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology
Title Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology PDF eBook
Author Basil A. Reid
Publisher
Pages 0
Release 2014
Genre Archaeology
ISBN 9780813044200

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A sweeping overview of the scholarly information available on archaeology in the Caribbean, tackling the usual questions of colonization, adaptation, and evolution while embracing such newer aspects as geoinformatics and archaeometry.

Talking Taino

Talking Taino
Title Talking Taino PDF eBook
Author William F. Keegan
Publisher University of Alabama Press
Pages 190
Release 2008-10-26
Genre History
ISBN 0817355081

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Keegan and Carlson, combined, have spent over 45 years conducting archaeological research in the Caribbean, directing projects in Trinidad, Grenada, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, the Turks & Caicos Islands, and throughout the Bahamas. Walking hundreds of miles of beaches, working without shade in the Caribbean sun, diving in refreshing and pristine waters, and studying the people and natural environment around them has given them insights into the lifeways of the people who lived in the Caribbean before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Sadly, harsh treatment extinguished the culture that we today call Taíno or Arawak. In an effort to repay their debt to the past and the present, the authors have focused on the relationship between the Taínos of the past (revealed through archaeological investigations) and the present natural history of the islands. Bringing the past to life and highlighting commonalities between past and present, they emphasize Taíno words and beliefs about their worldview and culture.

The Aborigines of Porto Rico and Neighboring Islands

The Aborigines of Porto Rico and Neighboring Islands
Title The Aborigines of Porto Rico and Neighboring Islands PDF eBook
Author Jesse Walter Fewkes
Publisher
Pages 608
Release 1907
Genre Indians of the West Indies
ISBN

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Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies

Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies
Title Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies PDF eBook
Author Sven Lovén
Publisher
Pages 744
Release 1979
Genre History
ISBN

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