The Ortoiroid people were the first human settlers of the Caribbean, who peaked culturally from 5000—200 BCE.[1][2] 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.[3]
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The Ortoiroid are believed to have developed in South America before moving to the West Indies.[4] The earliest radiocarbon date for the Ortoiroid is 5230 BCE from Trinidad.[4]
The two earliest Ortoiroid sites in Trinidad are the Banwari Trace and St. John site in Oropouche, which date back at least to 5500 BCE.[5] 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.[6] Tobago has at least one Ortoiroid site, Martinique has two, and Antigua has 24 Ortoiroid shell-midden sites. Ortoiroid peoples settle on St. Kitts from 2000 BCE to 400 BCE.[7]
In the north, two distinct Ortoiroid subcultures have been identified: the Coroso culture, which flourished from 1500 BCE–200 CE, and the Krum Bay culture, which spanned 1500—200 BCE. The Coroso people lived in Puerto Rico, where the oldest known site is the Angostura site, dating from 4000 BCE.[2] The Krum Bay people lived in the Virgin Islands.[3] Krum Bay culture, which emerged between 800 BCE and 225 BCE, also extended to St. Thomas.[8]
The Ortoiroid are considered the first settlers of the archipelago of Puerto Rico;[6] however, recent reexamination of date, artifact, and agricultural evidence and of assumptions about culture has suggested a more complex picture.[9]
Ortoiroid peoples were hunter-gatherers.[7] Shellfish remains have been found in these sites indicating that they constituted an important part of the Ortoiroid diet. They also ate turtles, crabs, and fish.[2]
They were known for their lithic technology but did not have ceramics.[2] Ortoiroid artifacts include bone spearpoints, perforated animal teeth worn as jewellery, and stone tools, such as manos and metates, net sinkers, pestles, choppers, hammerstones, and pebbles used for grinding.[5]
Ortoiroid people lived in caves and in the open. They buried their dead in soil beneath shell middens.[2] Red ochre was found at some sites and may have been used for body paint.[1]
The Ortoiroid were displaced by the Saladoid people in the West Indies.[5] In many regions, they disappeared by approximately 400 BCE;[3] however, the Coroso culture survived until 200 CE.[2]