26 THE ABKKIGINES OF PORTO RICO 



To separate that which is cliaracteristically Porto Rican from later 

 introductions tlins becomes no easy task — almost impossible, indeed. 

 Fortunately, it is possible to bring to our aid, in a solution of this 

 problem, comparative ethnology and archeology, which teach that the 

 Borinquen Indians were of the same race as those of the other West 

 Indian islands. From a study of the surviving Indians in these other 

 islands we can determine the indigenous b}^ eliminating the intro- 

 duced. Historical accounts ma3' also help us in the same direction, 

 but we should alwa\-s bear in mind that evidences of Indian bodily 

 features in modern inhabitants of Porto Rico, while suggestive, are not 

 necessarily indications of the survival of prehistoric peoples whose 

 ancestors lived on the island at the time of its discovery. 



RACE AND KINSHIP 



Among the first words heard by the comrades of Columbus when 

 they landed in Guadeloupe were '"''Taino! tahio/'''' "Peace! peace!" or 

 " We are friends." The designation '"''tauio'' has been used by several 

 writers as a characteristic name for the Antillean race.- Since it is both 

 significant and euphonious, it may be adopted as a convenient substi- 

 tute for the adjective "Antillean" to designate a cultural type. The 

 author applies the term to the original sedentary people of the West 

 Indies, as distinguished from the Cai'ib, or any mixture of the two, 

 such as is found in the southern islands and certain littoral regions of 

 the Greater Antilles. 



In a general wa}-, the prehistoric Porto Rican aborigines may Ije 

 said to have been a mixed Tainan race, closel}' related to the people of 

 Haiti and Cuba, but considerably modified by Carib influences in the 

 eastern sections of the island. Mona, the neighboring island on the 

 west, now belonging to the United States, was once well populated by 

 Indians, although at present (1903) it has onlj' a solitary human occu- 

 pant — a light-house keeper. This small island formerly had a mission 

 and was inhabited by Tainans, while the natives of Vieques and 

 Culebra, islands otf the east coast, were Carib. 



The Borinquefios, or aboriginal Porto Ricans, thus had affinities on 

 the one side with Tainans of the neighboring island, Santo Domingo, 

 <ind on the other with the insular Carib, whose outposts were the 

 islands Culebra and Vieques. It should be borne in mind that the 

 insular Carib differed somewhat in language, blood, and culture from 

 those of the mainland of South America, since most of them were the 

 otispring of Carib fathers and Tainan mothers, who were slaves. The 

 captive Tainan women incorporated their arts in the Carib life, natu- 

 rally developing a close similarity between the various mixed Carib 

 and Tainan cultures. The resemblance of the prehistoric inhabitants 

 of Porto Rico to the Tainans of Haiti and eastern Cuba was com- 



