Compartirmos el prólogo de la traducción* al libro Taínos y Caribes: las culturas aborígenes antillanas –originalmente escrito en español– por Sebastián Robiou Lamarche.
It is with great honor and privilege that I write this foreword to the English version of Tainos and Caribs: The Aboriginal Cultures of the Antilles. I knew this book would become a classic from the moment I read it in 2004. Its publication in English is a testament to the many fine qualities that this book possesses, among which I wish to highlight a few that distinguishes it from other publications on the ancient Caribbean. I also wish to address why the revision and English version of this work surfaces at an opportune time in the histography of the Caribbean. In many ways, the original version of this book foreshadowed our current understanding of the Caribbean archipelago as a heterogenous and complex mosaic. Recent scientific findings support this view of the human past.
From an academic perspective, this book is based on solid research. I cannot think of another popular publication on the subject of the Tainos and Caribs that describes all periods of historical development and all forms of academic inquiry. This book makes use of ethnohistoric documents, archeological evidence and information obtained from osteological and genetic analysis of human remains. The analysis is carried out methodologically and relies on the author’s extensive knowledge of mythology, religion, and astronomy. The discussions are appropriately situated geographically, chronologically and culturally and cover the history of the entire Caribbean basin. In short, Robiou does not hold anything back yet is able to present a coherent story that is also impressively enjoyable!
As a field archaeologist and curator, I find that one of the greater traits of this book is that it overcomes a common communication barrier that exists between those of us who conduct the research and the non-specialists who are interested in reading about our findings. It has been estimated that new findings or corrections in the general sciences take ten years or longer to reach school textbooks. In many cases, the findings do not make it to the readers at all. The statistics are worse in the specialized field of Caribbean archaeology.
Remarkably, this book defies the odds because it neither oversimplifies the content nor underestimates the capabilities of the reader. Unlike other publications written for the public, Robiou does not treat the audience as an ignorant or under-educated entity. Instead, he promotes an active conversation and reminds researchers who are busy talking to one another that their audience should be much larger and include the actual “owners” of the cultural heritage they purport to study.
Notably, Robiou recognizes that Taino and Carib societies were not simple. Quite the opposite, he describes their cultures as vibrant and sophisticated. This is in contrast to many publications on the ancient history of the Caribbean that describe the past in a childish manner. Perhaps this is because early archeologists did not have enough information to create more than a fragmented picture of the past. Or, maybe, we tend to view ancient native peoples through the lens of 17th and 18th century Europeans who perceived the indigenous as innocent groups that relied on nature for their sustenance and lived in an idyllic world. Not surprisingly, this view persists today, also assisted by the prejudice with which modern, contemporary and highly technological societies view the unsophisticated past. Robiou thoughtfully presents a different view, opposing the trends I describe, and this is best exemplified in the author’s discussions on mythology and cosmology. The approach taken in this book is refreshing and most needed in Caribbean archeology and anthropology.
Finally, the revision and English edition of Tainos and Caribs is well-timed because recent developments reaffirm the composite view of the Caribbean presented in the original publication. A social movement led by people who claim to descend from the original indigenous groups has gained some academic recognition since the original version of this book was published. In parallel, recent research points to a more complex and multi-linear historical development than we imagined previously. Advanced archeological research is generating new theories regarding the extent to which different ethnic groups overlapped or co-inhabited the islands. Genetic research is augmenting the questions being asked and requiring that assumptions regarding traditional homogeneous conceptions about who we call Taino and Carib be questioned.
For these reasons, this new edition commands as much attention as the original publication and motivates us to continue to ask ourselves who these indigenous peoples were that lived in our beautiful islands hundreds of years ago, where did they come from and what made their lives meaningful. I trust that you will enjoy this edition as much as I did.
*La traducción fue realizada por Grace M. Robiou Ramírez de Arellano
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