Siboney

Siboney or ciboney ('cave dwellers' in classical Taíno, Arawak language'), was a town that was among the occupants aborigines of the Antilles of the Caribbean Sea. When the Spanish arrived in America, the Siboney occupied territories in western Cuba and in the western part of Hispaniola (in what currently corresponds to Haiti and the Dominican Republic). The Siboney from the times of the European conquest are also called Taínos-Siboney.

The term "siboney" It can be confusing because it has been applied to ethnic groups from different times that were both culturally and possibly linguistically different from each other. The term refers primarily to the settlers of the early XVI century who spoke an Arawak language, different from the classic Taíno of the eastern part of Cuba and Western Hispaniola (De las Casas refers to them as "Ciboney Taínos"). Although some authors such as Harrington have used the term to refer to the ancient Guanajatabeyes of the western tip of Cuba, who probably did not even speak an Arawak language and had a less complex material culture than the Siboney Tainos of the 17th century XVI who inhabited central Cuba.

The "siboney" Historical figures of the XVI century were ethnically differentiated from the Guanajatabeyes of the western end of Cuba and the classical Taínos of the eastern end. Upon the arrival of the Spanish, the Ciboneyes had been partially cornered by the Taínos and were confined to the tip of the Tiburon Peninsula on the island of Hispaniola and in the western part of Cuba. The Ciboneyes of Cuba and Hispaniola were culturally different from each other. In just one century after the arrival of the Spanish, all the ciboneyes would have been driven to extinction.^{[citation required]}

Origin and provenance

The period of prehistory of Hispaniola that is characterized by the presence of groups of gatherers, hunters and fishermen is called siboney. The Siboneyes constituted the first wave of immigration from Central and South America. There is evidence that around the year 2000 BC. C. had already arrived on the island. The Siboney Tainos of the XVI century could be in part the descendants of these groups along with some miscegenation or cultural influence of the Arawak peoples. from northern South America. Different phylogenetic analyzes seem to suggest that most of the Caribbean was probably populated from South America, although some authors have provided evidence of possible settlements from Central America.

The oldest vestiges of the siboneyes seem to date back to the shell age. These human groups lived on the banks of rivers, swamps, inlets and bays. Without pottery and without agriculture, these people came to occupy some areas of Hispaniola and Cuba, in addition to the Lesser Antilles.

The Guanajatabeyes of the XVI century are the ethnic group of western Cuba whose material culture was less distant from that of the first inhabitants of Cuba. The Spanish conquerors, who called them 'old Indians', described them as sad, shy and very peaceful. When the Conquest of America took place, the Guanajatabeyes who survived the invasion of more technical Arawak peoples had taken refuge in the most isolated keys and in the westernmost peninsula of Cuba, Guanahacabibes.

The Antillean ceramic cultures are, probably, a continuation of cultures of the same type found at the beginning of our era in the northern part of Venezuela and at the mouth of the Orinoco River. The classification of Antillean ceramic cultures responds more to an ethnological criterion than to a criterion of stylistic order.

Cultural aspects

Crafts

The Siboney Taíno groups preserved some Paleo-Indian techniques in terms of the use of flint flakes but, at the same time, they developed a more elaborate lithic industry in terms of stone carving: they preferred the shapes symmetrical and reaches appreciable finishes. Its utilitarian trousseau is made up of small and large mortars, conical, rectangular and cylindrical pestles. They also made stone butterfly and neck axes, some of them decorated.

Other lithic objects such as spherolites (stone balls of different sizes) and dagoliths (scepters or daggers) are associated with their ceremonial or funerary practices, which include secondary burials, in this case applying a reddish pigment. to the bones of the deceased.

Food

Their diet was similar to that of previous populations but they added edible roots and shellfish to their diet. In the "concheros" (sites with a large number of mollusk shells) studied have found remains of crabs, sea and river fish, manatees, oysters and other marine snails. Remains of non-marine animals such as freshwater turtles, hutias, iguanas and smaller rodents have also been found. They collected and ate beach grapes, mamey, saona, hicacos, soursop, corozos, yucca, guayica, etc.

The Madrigales Complex (2050 BC) is the oldest phase known to date for the Meso-Indian of the island but it is in the Porvenir Complex (1030 - 90 BC) where the further development. Both sites are located at the mouth of the Higuamo River in San Pedro de Macorís.

Language

it is known with certainty that these did not speak any Arawak language since they had no ethnic relationship with the Tainos, and they were in the territory longer than the Tainos, being called classic Tainos or classic settlers, it is most likely that they spoke some language Kariña Caribs for migrating from northern Venezuela and the Orinoco basin