Amerindian Settlements

Analyze Petroglyphs and an Amerindian Swallow Stick

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The various groups of people who first inhabited the Virgin Islands had no written system of communication. However, we can learn directly about their lifeways and beliefs through the surviving elements of their material culture, which include settlement sites, pottery, stoneware, food remains and various kinds of carvings, all…
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Analyze Contents of a Prehistoric Midden from Tutu, St. Thomas

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In September 1990, construction crews were digging in an area of Tutu, St. Thomas to build a shopping mall. They disturbed remains of an Amerindian village. The construction activity was stopped for 10 months. This allowed archeologists a brief period to examine the site. When archaeologists dig, they are…
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Analyze the Handle found at an Amerindian Site in Salt River, St. Croix

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Artifacts, in general terms, are items made by humans. Items made by humans in the past are often uncovered by accident when later people are digging in the ground to farm or to build things. They are also found when archeologists conduct studies of areas identified as possible historic…
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Analyze an Amerindian Fishing Hook found at Longford, St. Croix

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The islands of the Antilles were home to thriving cultures for some 3,500 years before Europeans and Africans arrived in the late 1400s. These early people included the Tainos and the Island Caribs. They used stones, bones, and shells to make tools and ornaments. Their tools, like this fishing…
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Analyze an Amerindian Stone Ax found at Little Cruz Bay, St. John

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Through research, archeologists have found signs that suggests that the first people arrived in the Virgin Islands around 2500 to 3000 years ago. In the Virgin Islands, over 210 sites belonging to Amerindian cultures have been uncovered and identified. Some of the important village sites found and studied on…
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