Archeologists say early Caribbeans were not 'savage cannibals', as colonists wrote

[Judi Lynn]

Archeologists say early Caribbeans were not 'savage cannibals', as colonists wrote
Researchers in Antigua hope to correct ‘speculative and erroneous’ colonial accounts that depict the Carib people as ferocious man-eaters

Gemma Handy in English Harbour
Tue 24 Apr 2018 03.01 EDT

For centuries, historians held that the Caribbean’s earliest inhabitants were peaceful farmers who were wiped out by the ferocious man-eating Carib people. But archaeologists in Antigua say new evidence from one of the most important sites in the region is helping to correct “speculative and erroneous” accounts passed down from early colonists.

The excavation at a 12-acre site in Indian Creek has prompted a reassessment of older narratives, said Dr Reg Murphy, who is leading a team from Syracuse University, Farmingdale State College and Brooklyn College.

Colonial-era historians said that the Arawak people were exterminated in about 1300 AD by the Caribs, who were demonised as man-eaters – and then themselves displaced – by the first European settlers .

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/24/archeology-caribbean-carib-people-cannibalism-colonial-history-wrong

Anthropology:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/12293774

[tulipsandroses]

1. There is not much that I believe from Colonial history anymore

Not when it comes to how they want to paint narratives of African and indigenous peoples

[Judi Lynn]

3. They had to paint a picture of their victims as bad to justify their wild abuse of them.

Looks like it worked for them, too, when you see how that evil hatred has continued in the history following their utterly unredeemable progeny. People hate strangers now for absolutely NO reason whatsoever.

Really hope somewhere, and sometime, they are going to be confronted by the evil they have created.

Very glad to see your comment. Thank you.

[malchickiwick]

2. This book adds to the scholarship that accusations of cannibalism were used to justify atrocity.

https://www.amazon.com/Cannibalism-Perfectly-Natural-Bill-Schutt/dp/1616204621

[Judi Lynn]

4. Yikes! Looks like a book read better while sunbathing in the summer! So lighthearted! Woof.

We still hear those claims repeatedly, regarding tales propagandists tell us of people in areas we are unlikely to want to visit, to bolster rationals for using extreme military acts against them in order to clear off land wanted for mining, or agriculture, or other corporate interests.

Once you see the pattern enough times, you really do despise those who still, in these times, dabble in working in producing hatred and fear among the intellectually lazy, and the born stupid.