Editing History of Anguilla (section)

==Pre-Columbian Anguilla==
The earliest inhabitants of Anguilla were [[Amerindian]] people from South America, commonly (if imprecisely) referred to as [[Arawak people|Arawaks]]. These people travelled to the island on rafts and in dugout canoes, settling in fishing, hunting and farming groups. Forty Arawak villages have been excavated, the largest being those at Island Harbour, Sandy Ground, Sandy Hill, Rendezvous Bay, and Shoal Bay East.<ref name=gov>{{cite book |chapter=Anguilla's History |chapter-url=http://gov.ai/elections/anguillahistory.htm |publisher=Government of Anguilla |title=The Anguilla House of Assembly Elections<!--sic--> |date=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813051037/http://gov.ai/elections/anguillahistory.htm |access-date=9 June 2015 |archive-date=2007-08-13}}</ref> The Amerindian name for the island was ''Malliouhana''. The earliest Amerindian artefacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300&nbsp;BC, and remains of settlements dating from AD&nbsp;600 have been uncovered. Religious artifacts and remnants of ceremonies found at locations, such as [[Big Springs, Anguilla|Big Springs]] and Fountain Cavern, suggest that the pre-European inhabitants were extremely religious in nature. The Arawaks are popularly said to have been later displaced by fiercer [[Island Caribs|Carib]], but this version of events and characterisation is disputed by some.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://net.ai/precolumbian.html |title=Anguilla's Precolumbian History |date=2003 |website=The Anguilla Guide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050827040910/http://net.ai/precolumbian.html |archive-date=2005-08-27}}</ref>