Editing Aruba (section)

===Pre-ceramic age===
In Aruba's prehistoric era, there were distinct periods: the [[Archaic period (North America)|Archaic]] or [[Aceramic|Pre-Ceramic]] and the [[Formative stage|Neo-Indian]] or Ceramic (Dabajuroïd)  period.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Alofs |first=L. |title=Koloniale mythen en Benedenwindse feiten : Curaçao, Aruba en Bonaire in inheems Atlantisch perspectief, ca. 1499-1636 |year=2018 |pages=19–27 |trans-title=Colonial Myths and Leeward Realities: Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire from an Indigenous Atlantic Perspective, ca. 1499-1636 |chapter=Inheemse eilanden: een korte kennismaking |publisher=Sidestone Press |isbn=978-90-8890-602-2 |trans-chapter=Indigenous islands: a brief introduction |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/BNA-DIG-9789088906022/page/19/mode/2up}}</ref> The Archaic occupation of Aruba continued well into the first millennium AD, which is relatively late in compared to other parts of the insular Caribbean. The archaic lifestyle revolved around a food economy based on [[Hunter-gatherer|fishing, hunting, and gathering]], with a strong emphasis on marine resources. Ceramics were absent, as was horticulture and agriculture.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mickleburgh |first1=Hayley L. |url= |title=The Archaeology of Caribbean and Circum-Caribbean Farmers (6000 BC - AD 1500) |last2=Laffoon |first2=Jason E. |publisher=Routledge |year=2018 |isbn=9781351169202 |location=London |chapter=Assessing dietary and subsistence transitions on prehistoric Aruba: Preliminary bioarchaeological evidence |doi=10.4324/9781351169202 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q-5aDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT330}}</ref> Weapons and tools were predominantly crafted from stone.<ref name=":5" /> Sharp-edged ax blades, chisels, and knives were commonly used, with the knives distinguishable by their elongated shape and flat blades.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Josselin De Jong |first=J. P. B. |date=1919 |title=De Beteekenis Van Het Archaeologisch Onderzoek Op Aruba, Curaçao En Bonaire |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41847531 |journal=De West-Indische Gids |volume=1 |pages=317–334 |jstor=41847531 |issn=0372-7289}}</ref>

One notable site, Sero Muskita, yielded a tool that is older than other archaic age sites on the island. The finishing techniques and shape of this tool resembles one found at Arikok, suggesting a date before approximately 2000 BC. The presence of these tools on the island may be from occasional visits from the mainland. In total, 33 archaic age sites have been identified on Aruba.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=H.J. |title=Early Settlers of the Insular Caribbean: Dearchaizing the Archaic |last2=Hofman |first2=C.L. |publisher=Sidestone Press |year=2019 |publication-place=Leiden |pages=147–162 |chapter=The Archaic Age of Aruba: New evidence on the first migrations to the island |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333561268}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Collectie Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen TM-2344-198 Stenen bijlkling Aruba.jpg
| image2            = Collectie Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen TM-2344-193 Stenen vuistbijl Aruba.jpg
| align             = center
| total_width       = 350
| footer            = (left) Stone axe blade (right) Stone hand axe
}}

==== Early human migration and cultural exchange ====
During this period, the [[Leeward Islands]] maintained connections and engaged in trade with mainland South America, particularly with partners in the present-day [[Falcón]]-[[Zulia]] state in [[Venezuela]] and possibly the [[Guajira Peninsula|La Guajira Peninsula]] (Venezuela/[[Colombia]]). The specific language group to which they belonged remains uncertain. This theory is supported by the discovery of 60 to 70 Amerindian cemetery burial grounds in [[Malmok]]<ref>Versteeg, A. H. (1991). [https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/19/61/00405/13-9.pdf A preceramic burial site at Malmok (Aruba)]. In Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology. Ayubi EN, Haviser JB (eds). Reports of the Archaeological–Anthropological Institute of the Netherlands Antilles (No. 9, pp. 105-126).</ref> and [[Canashito]]. Burial sites at Canashito are dated between 100 BC to 100 AD. [[Isotope analysis|isotopic]] research revealed that one of the individuals buried there was not from Aruba and had a different diet compared to the other four individuals of Aruban origin. This finding suggests that early [[human migration]] and cultural exchange were already part of the cultural pattern of these archaic Indians at an early stage.<ref name=":02" />

The burial site in Malmok dates to between 450 and 1000 AD. The Arubans of that time had a short and stocky physique, with adult men averaging {{Convert|1.57|m|ft}} in height and women averaging {{Convert|1.49|m|ft}}. The burial customs offer insight into the social dynamics of the archaic island inhabitants. Based on the burial patterns,<ref>{{cite web |title=Distributions of graves and gifts |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268741493 |access-date=11 Nov 2023}}</ref> it was deduced that they traveled in clans of 15 to 30 people. These groups were led by an adult man who was buried at the center of the cluster. His elevated status was emphasized by the presence of several stones marking his grave. The rest of the family group was buried around him.<ref name=":02" />
[[File:NL-HaNA 4.JBF 206.jpg|thumb|Sketch of hieroglyphs found of earlier presence of former inhabitants, drawn on cave roof with reddish ocre-like paint, ratio 1/20. (1827)]]