Editing History of Jamaica (section)

== Pre-Columbian Jamaica ==
{{Main|Pre-Columbian Jamaica}}
The first inhabitants of Jamaica probably came from islands to the east in two waves of migration. About 600 CE the culture known as the “Redware people” arrived. Little is known of these people, however, beyond the red pottery they left behind.<ref name="britannica.com">[https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica/History "Jamaica"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420082314/https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica/History |date=2019-04-20 }}, ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> Alligator Pond in [[Manchester Parish]] and Little River in [[St. Ann Parish]] are among the earliest known sites of this Ostionoid person, who lived near the coast and extensively hunted turtles and fish.<ref>, Atkinson, Lesley-Gail. "The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taíno."</ref>

Around 800 CE, the [[Arawak]] tribes of the [[Tainos]] arrived, eventually settling throughout the island. Living in villages ruled by tribal chiefs called [[the cacique]]s, they sustained themselves on fishing and the cultivation of [[maize]] and [[cassava]]. At the height of their civilization, their population is estimated to have numbered as much as 60,000.<ref name="britannica.com"/>

The Arawak brought a South America system of raising [[yuca]] known as "conuco" to the island.<ref name=rogozinski>Rogozinski, Jan.  "A Brief History of the Caribbean."</ref> To add nutrients to the soil, the Arawak burned local bushes and trees and heaped the ash into large mounds, into which they then planted yuca cuttings.<ref name=rogozinski /> Most Arawak lived in large circular buildings (''bohios''), constructed with wooden poles, woven straw, and [[Palm tree|palm]] leaves. The Arawak spoke an [[Arawakan language]] and did not have writing. Some of the words used by them, such as ''barbacoa'' ("barbecue"), ''hamaca'' ("hammock"), ''kanoa'' ("canoe"), ''tabaco'' ("tobacco"), ''[[cassava|yuca]]'', ''batata'' ("sweet potato"), and ''[[juracán]]'' ("hurricane"), have been incorporated into Spanish and English.<ref name="jis.gov.jm">{{Cite web|url=https://jis.gov.jm/information/jamaican-history/|title=The History of Jamaica – Jamaica Information Service|access-date=2019-03-06|archive-date=2013-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105105613/https://jis.gov.jm/information/jamaican-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Manihot esculenta dsc07325.jpg|Cassava (''yuca'') roots, the Taínos' main crop
File:Duho.jpg|''Dujo'', a wooden chair crafted by Taínos.
File:Reconstruction of Taino village, Cuba.JPG|Reconstruction of a Taíno village in Cuba
File:Parco Cerimoniale Indigeno di Caguana.jpg|[[Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site]] (''batey''), outlined with stones in [[Utuado, Puerto Rico]]
</gallery>