The Earliest Inhabitants

"The Earliest Inhabitants" aims to promote Jamaican Tainan archaeology and highlight the diverse research conducted on the island's prehistoric sites and artefacts. Of the fourteen papers in this volume, six are reprints of seminal articles that are not widely available and eight are based on recent archaeological research. The chapters are organized by thematic divisions that reflect the most important areas of research: Assessment and Excavations of Taino Sites looks at the various archaeological investigations across the island; Taino Exploitation of the Natural Resources examines how the Tainos took advantage of the natural environment to fulfil their needs; Analysis of Taino Archaeological Data highlights research conducted on various artefacts; and Taino Art Forms focuses specifically on evidence of Taino cave art and its impact on the interpretation of the Jamaican Taino livelihood. In her introduction, Lesley-Gail Atkinson explains, "Jamaican prehistory is regarded as one of the least studied Caribbean disciplines. That is not necessarily the case; the fact is that published Jamaican archaeological research has not had sufficient international circulation. This has resulted in misconceptions about lack of scope, research activities and information on the Jamaican Tainos." This volume seeks to redress this lack: invaluable in its own right as a collection of distinguished scholarship, "The Earliest Inhabitants" is remarkable, too, for being the first compilation on the Jamaican Tainos since 1897. This collection will appeal to a wide audience of archaeologists, historians, students of archaeology and anyone interested in Jamaica's history and archaeology.