﻿ABORIGIISrES 
  OF 
  HISPANIOLA 
  KEIEGER 
  485 
  

  

  animals 
  and 
  bird 
  heads 
  indicates 
  presumably 
  a 
  long 
  period 
  of 
  isolated 
  

   development 
  of 
  forms 
  and 
  shaping 
  technic. 
  

  

  The 
  presence 
  of 
  closed 
  stone 
  collars 
  within 
  the 
  areas 
  of 
  the 
  Antilles 
  

   and 
  Central 
  America, 
  also 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  stools 
  of 
  stone 
  with 
  

   sculptured 
  anthropomorphic 
  and 
  zoomorphic 
  figurine 
  carvings, 
  the 
  

   presence 
  of 
  axially 
  drilled 
  tubular 
  stone 
  beads, 
  the 
  weaving 
  of 
  cotton 
  

   cloth, 
  the 
  wearing 
  of 
  a 
  woman's 
  garment 
  similar 
  to 
  Central 
  American 
  

   patterns, 
  and, 
  above 
  all, 
  the 
  molding 
  of 
  archaic 
  clay 
  figurines 
  in 
  

   anthropomorphic 
  and 
  zoomorphic 
  designs 
  — 
  all 
  these 
  indicate 
  a 
  remote 
  

   influence 
  from 
  Central 
  America 
  entirely 
  distinct 
  from 
  a 
  more 
  direct 
  

   Mayan 
  influence 
  from 
  Yucatan, 
  which 
  apparently 
  did 
  not 
  occur. 
  If 
  

   connection 
  had 
  existed 
  with 
  the 
  Mayan 
  area, 
  artifacts 
  from 
  western 
  

   Cuba 
  would 
  have 
  revealed 
  such 
  connection. 
  It 
  must 
  not 
  be 
  over- 
  

   looked, 
  however, 
  that 
  maize 
  and 
  cotton 
  were 
  two 
  important 
  culture 
  

   plants 
  in 
  Yucatan 
  as 
  in 
  Cuba 
  and 
  Santo 
  Domingo. 
  Cotton 
  yarns 
  and 
  

   cotton 
  cloth 
  entered 
  native 
  trade 
  extensively 
  in 
  the 
  Greater 
  Antilles 
  

   and 
  cotton 
  products 
  were 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  objects 
  offered 
  the 
  Spanish 
  

   in 
  trade 
  for 
  the 
  much 
  coveted 
  hawk's 
  bells 
  which 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  a 
  

   copper 
  alloy. 
  Guarionex, 
  cacique 
  of 
  the 
  Magna 
  Province 
  (Vega), 
  

   offered 
  to 
  plant 
  cornfields 
  extending 
  from 
  one 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  central 
  

   valley 
  to 
  the 
  other, 
  that 
  is, 
  from 
  sea 
  to 
  sea, 
  and 
  to 
  present 
  the 
  har- 
  

   vested 
  crops 
  to 
  the 
  Spanish 
  as 
  tribute 
  in 
  lieu 
  of 
  gold. 
  Cotton 
  was 
  also 
  

   extensively 
  grown, 
  if 
  we 
  are 
  to 
  believe 
  the 
  statement 
  that 
  an 
  arroba, 
  

   or 
  25 
  pounds 
  of 
  cotton, 
  could 
  be 
  collected 
  as 
  tribute 
  from 
  each 
  adult 
  

   at 
  periodic 
  intervals. 
  

  

  HISTORICAL 
  DISTRIBUTION 
  OF 
  NATIVE 
  POPULATION 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  discovery 
  the 
  Arawak 
  Indians 
  of 
  Haiti 
  and 
  Santo 
  

   Domingo 
  were 
  grouped 
  in 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  well-defined 
  geographical 
  areas 
  

   under 
  rulers 
  locally 
  loiown 
  to 
  the 
  aborigines 
  as 
  caciques. 
  There 
  were 
  

   caciques 
  of 
  many 
  degrees 
  of 
  social 
  and 
  political 
  influence, 
  varying 
  in 
  

   power 
  according 
  to 
  their 
  functions 
  and 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  villages 
  under 
  

   their 
  control. 
  Caciques 
  were 
  the 
  leaders 
  and 
  advisers 
  of 
  their 
  people 
  

   and 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  united 
  political, 
  social, 
  and 
  religious 
  leadership 
  

   under 
  one 
  head. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  lesser 
  caciques 
  were 
  merely 
  medicine 
  

   men 
  or 
  shamans; 
  others 
  wielded 
  a 
  powerful 
  sway 
  over 
  large 
  sections 
  

   of 
  the 
  island. 
  There 
  were 
  five 
  principal 
  native 
  provinces, 
  each 
  under 
  

   the 
  control 
  of 
  a 
  cacique, 
  who 
  controlled 
  in 
  turn 
  many 
  lesser 
  caciques. 
  

   The 
  cacique 
  over 
  a 
  village 
  ordered 
  the 
  routine 
  of 
  daily 
  life 
  and 
  assigned 
  

   to 
  individuals 
  such 
  duties 
  as 
  pertained 
  to 
  communal 
  hunting, 
  fishing, 
  

   and 
  tillage 
  of 
  the 
  soil; 
  they 
  also 
  presided 
  at 
  religious 
  ceremonies. 
  

   The 
  cacique 
  of 
  a 
  Province 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  a 
  ''rex 
  inter 
  pares" 
  

   with 
  magnified 
  powers 
  in 
  time 
  of 
  danger 
  or 
  war. 
  Fewkes 
  says 
  that 
  

   "as 
  a 
  rule 
  each 
  village 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  had 
  a 
  chieftain 
  or 
  patriarchal 
  

   head 
  of 
  the 
  clans 
  composing 
  it, 
  whose 
  house 
  was 
  larger 
  than 
  the 
  other 
  

  

  