7S THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO [eth. anx. 25 



Ciuib words derived from the Lesser Antilles. Similar words are fre- 

 qiientl}' heard in the island patois and among Venezuelan tribes, as has 

 been pointed out by Torres, Lucian Adam, Brinton, and other writers. 

 Many Tainan words, as hamac, canoe, tobacco, kej' (island), have 

 become anglicized and are now universally used in the West Indies and 

 on the neighboring- mainland. 



The Indian name of Porto Rico is variously given in the different 

 early accounts, and probably the Carib designation, Boriqiien^ was a 

 dialectic variant which Coluii)bus heard in the Lesser Antilles. The 

 name Bancqur, mentioned in Columbus's diary, was probably a Luca- 

 yan variant. Although affixed to a smaller island north of Haiti on 

 several maps, Torres has shown that this is the same as the Carib 

 Borinquen. As a result of his scholarh* examination of the three ele- 

 ments, Bo-ri-quen, Coll y Toste arrives at the conclusion that tbs 

 proper spelling of the name of the island is Borin(iuen. After a crit- 

 ical discussion of the name of the island as spelled by others, Torres 

 saj^s," in part, as follows: 



We believe that the word Borinquen or Bo-ri-n-gue-n is composed of the following 

 elements: bo which expresses the general idea of man, master; ri which denotes the 

 absolute conception of valor, force; the prefix n which signifies of Ihem, of tin'; the 

 root que, which entails the signification earth; and n final sign of plural. 



Borinquen, with accent on the /, would then mean '• land of valiant 

 masters" or "fatherland of powerful men."'' 



The speech of the ancient people of the island Borin(iuen is consid- 

 ered by some authors to be a Tainan dialect called Eyrie, but there 

 seems no good reason, on account of dialectic variation, to separate 

 aboriginal Porto Ricans from the other West Indians, whom they 

 clearly resemble in customs and langu.age. All belong to one and the 

 same stock, but from their proximity to the Carib the Porto Ricans 

 were naturallj' more warlike, and the presence of .slight variations in 

 their language indicates no difference in race kinship. 



ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES 



In addition to the preceding information regarding the piehistoric 

 Porto Ricans, obtained from historical accounts or from ethnology and 

 folklore, we have that afforded by a study of prehistoric objects found 

 in the soil, in caves, or on village sites. These can often be interpreted 

 by the writings of the Spanish historians, and they also present evidence 

 in themselves of the character of the long-extinct people that manu- 

 factured and used them. Archeology is thus able to illuminate obscur(> 

 chapters overlooked or unrecorded by the historian and ethnologist. 



'I Luis Lorens Torres, America: Esturiios Historicos y Filol^gicos. Madrid. 1898. 



''It will be noted that this spelling of the ancient name of the island introduces the letter m, and 

 in that respect differs from that of Coll y Toste and others. The objection to the omission is well 

 presented by Torres, who points out that the three elements 6o-r('-7«rH mean simply "man-force- 

 lands," and need the connective n and the t:nal letter to bring out the correct meaning. 



