Taíno Caribbean Society (1390s)

Timeline

1. 1391–1395Hispaniola · Greater AntillesHispaniola was divided into chiefdoms such as Maguana, Maguá, Marién, Higüey, and Samaná, each ruled by a cacique. Alliances were maintained through intermarriage and tribute relations, with occasional border conflicts that did not alter the overall political pattern.
2. 1393–1397Caribbean sea routes · Caribbean SeaThe Taíno used large canoes (kanoa) to transport pottery, stone axes, cotton cloth, and food between islands. The trade network linked Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, spreading technological and cultural elements and strengthening social ties among chiefdoms.
3. 1396–1400Taíno villages in Puerto Rico · Puerto RicoTaíno villages centered on stilt-and-thatch houses (bohío) and a communal meeting house (caney), practicing slash-and-burn agriculture and cassava cultivation. Behique priests presided over ancestor worship and rituals to the sacred ceiba tree, sustaining the community's cosmology and social order.