Migration and Settlement of the Amerindians

What is migration?

This is the movement of people or animals from one place to another.

Why do people migrate?

Migration is a complex process and has been a feature of human societies for many centuries. There are many reasons why people choose to migrate, including:

 Poverty

 In search of food

 In search of work

 Armed conflict

 Social strife

 Political turmoil

 Economic hardships

Origins of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Historians believe the Amerindians were descendants of Mongolians who had wandered nomadically from North East Asia across the Bering Strait into Alaska and North America during the fourth Ice Age (about 50,000 years ago). The Ice Age was so called because great sheets of ice called glaciers covered much of the earth. These glaciers grew larger each winter. They did not melt much in the summers because the summers were still very cold. The body of water between North East Asia/Siberia and Alaska was frozen. This frozen section was called the Bering Strait/Ice Bridge. They were hunters who followed herds of Caribou (reindeer), buffalo and seals and moved from one feeding ground to the next As they moved around and the climate changed so did their activities. They went from being hunters and gatherers of fruits and vegetables, to farmers and fishermen. They continued to wander into North America, then Central and South America. Each group developed distinctive physical and cultural characteristics and lived in varying places according to their needs.

Who were these groups of people?

The Tainos, Kalinagos and Mayans

Movement into the Caribbean

Continuous rivalry between the Tainos and Kalinagos for land, women and food forced the docile Tainos to leave the regions of South America and move upwards into the neighboring island of Trinidad. The Kalinagos still followed them so some of the Tainos left Trinidad and continued into the Lesser Antilles. Some remained, so Trinidad was occupied by both Tainos and Kalinagos.

In time, the Kalinagos came to control the islands of the Lesser Antilles, for example while the Tainos who had fled further upwards came to control the Greater Antilles, Jamaica, Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Bahamas. Both groups shared the island of Puerto Rico.

GROUPS & WHERE THEY SETTLED

  • TAINOS: Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Trinidad
  • KALINAGOS: Lesser Antilles (excluding Barbados) – the Virgin Islands, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, and Grenada, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Guyana, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla
  • MAYANS: Yucatan Peninsula (Yucatan, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and part of Southern Mexico).

The areas on these islands that they concentrated on.

The Tainos settled near the coasts or streams and rivers, because

(a)  Fishing was an important source of food (

b)  They could easily get water for domestic purposes such as washing their utensils or bathing

(c)   They could get water for their crops

(d)   They could go swimming

(e)   It provided an excellent look-out point. From this vantage point they could see the Kalinagos approaching and get ready to fight or run.

The Kalinagos settled near the coasts too. This is mainly because

  • they were what we can call sea rovers. The sea was like a highway to them.

  • They used it to get to and from the various islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles where they conducted their raids.

  • They were also excellent fishermen.

    We know that the Mayans lived on the Central American mainland and that they chiefly occupied the Yucatan Peninsula. Unlike the Tainos and Kalinagos they built most of their settlement inland. because:

  1. They could get vast expanse of land to build their large and magnificent temples.
  2. They had easy access to limestone for building.
  3. There was an extensive trade network in the interior.
  4. There was much fertile land for agriculture.
  5. Rivers were located inland so they were also near water supply.