About this picture: Antigua was first settled by pre-agricultural Amerindians known as "Archaic People", commonly referred to as Ciboney, which means cave dweller in Arawakan.
The earliest settlements on the island date to 2900 BC. They were succeeded by ceramic-using agriculturalist Saladoid people who migrated up the island chain from Venezuela.
They were later replaced by Arawakan speakers, and around 1500 BC by Island Caribs.
Antigua Lodging
The Arawaks were the first well-documented group of Antiguans.
The Arawaks called Antigua Wadadli, which means land of oil, perhaps a reference to eucalyptus oil extracted from eucalyptus trees.They paddled to the island by canoe (piragua) from Venezuela, ejected by the Caribs—another people indigenous to the area.
Arawaks introduced agriculture to Antigua and Barbuda, raising, among other crops, the famous Antiguan "Black" pineapple.
They also cultivated various other foods including corn, sweet potatoes (white with firmer flesh than the bright orange "sweet potato" used in the United States), chiles, guava, tobacco and cotton.
Antigua Lodging
The bulk of the Arawaks left Antigua about 1100 A.D. Those who remained were subsequently raided by the Caribs.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Carib's superior weapons and seafaring prowess allowed them to defeat most Arawak nations in the West Indies—enslaving some, and possibly cannibalizing others (though this is unclear because many sources dispute the fact that Indian societies cannibalised each other).
Antigua Lodging
The Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda enjoy cooling trade winds which ensure the weather is perfect for the world famous sailing regattas like Antigua Sailing Week and Antigua Classic Yacht Charter Week.
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