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The Ortoiroid people were the second wave of human settlers of the Caribbean who began their migration into the Antilles around 2000 BC.Granberry, Julian & Vescelius, Gary. Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles. University of Alabama Press 2004. pp 39-40.Rouse, Irving. The Tainos: Rise & Decline of the People who Greeted Columbus. Yale University Press 1992. p. 81. They were preceded by the Casimiroid peoples (~4190-2165 BC). They are believed to have originated in the Orinoco valley in South America, migrating to the Antilles from Trinidad and Tobago to Puerto Rico. The name "Ortoiroid" comes from Ortoire, a shell midden site in southeast Trinidad. They have also been called Banwaroid, after another Banwari Trace in Trinidad.Saunders 211Rouse, Irving. The Tainos: Rise & Decline of the People who Greeted Columbus. Yale University Press 1992. p. 62.
The two earliest Ortoiroid sites in Trinidad are the Banwari Trace and at St. John's Road, South Oropouche, which date back at least to 5500 BC.Saunders 13. At this time, Trinidad might have still been connected to the South American mainland.
The majority of archaeological sites associated with the Ortoiroid are found near or on the coasts.Rouse 69. Tobago has at least one Ortoiroid site, Martinique has two, and Antigua has 24 Ortoiroid shell-midden sites. Ortoiroid peoples settled on St. Kitts from 2000 BC to 400 BC.Saunders 260. The shell midden deposits of Banwari Trace and St. John, have been dated between 6000 and 5100 BC. These deposits, consisting of discarded shells, bone tools, and stone tools, represent extended use of crustaceans as a food source, as well as the use of stone and bone tools by human inhabitants. They are considered to belong to the Ortoiroid culture.
In the north, two distinct Ortoiroid subcultures have been identified: the Coroso culture, which flourished from 1500 BC–200 AD, and the Krum Bay culture, which spanned 1500—200 BC. The Coroso people lived in Puerto Rico, where the oldest known site is the Angostura site, dating from 4000 BC. "Prehistory of the Caribbean Culture Area." Southeast Archaeological Center (retrieved 9 July 2011). The Krum Bay people lived in the Virgin Islands. Krum Bay culture, which emerged between 800 BC and 225 BC, also extended to St. Thomas.Saunders 264.
The Ortoiroid are considered the first settlers of the archipelago of Puerto Rico; however, recent reexamination of data, artifacts, and agricultural evidence and assumptions about culture have suggested a more complex picture.Rodríguez Ramos 17, 54.
They were known for their lithic technology but did not have ceramics. Ortoiroid artifacts include bone spearpoints, perforated animal teeth worn as jewelry, and stone tools, such as manos and metates, Fishing sinker, pestles, choppers, , and pebbles used for grinding.
Ortoiroid people lived in caves and the open. They buried their dead in the soil beneath shell middens. Red ochre was found at some sites and may have been used for body paint. "Rewriting History: There were people before the Caribs and Arawaks ." Trinidad and Tobago Express via Archaeology Daily News. 4 February 2010 (retrieved 9 July 2011).
Lifeways and material culture
The Ortoiroid were . Shellfish remains have been found at Ortoitoid sites indicating that they constituted an important part of the diet. This diet also included turtles, crabs, and fish.
Decline
The Ortoiroid were displaced by the Saladoid in the West Indies. In many regions, they disappeared by approximately 400 BC; however, the Coroso culture survived until 200 AD.
See also
Notes
Further reading
Categories: Indigenous Peoples Of The Caribbean, Pre-columbian Cultures, Archaeology Of The Caribbean, Archaic Period In The Americas, Cultural History Of Puerto Rico, Social History Of Puerto Rico, History Of Trinidad And Tobago, Indigenous Peoples In Puerto Rico, Extinct Indigenous Peoples Of The Americas
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