Technology

Taino
Taino had very simple life styles but they had some technological advances. Some examples are Hut
building, Fishing and Pottery.
Hut building there were larger huts built with a center pole, which gave extra support to the roof. It was
considered important for resisting heavy gales. It had no windows and doors. Wooden posts were placed
firmly in the ground to form a circle about five paces apart and laced together with springy branches and
grass. Transverse beams were tied on top of the posts, and a pole placed in the center of the structure.
The center pole and the transverse beams were then connected with thin poles, and these were covered
with grass or palm leaves to form a conical roof.
Fishing- Arawaks used nets, lines with hooks, a bone or turtle shell and harpoons to capture fish. In Cuba
artificial pools were created to keep excess fish until they were needed .The Arawaks used the sucking
fish (Remora).
Pottery- this was made from the local red, brown and gray clays. Pots were not glazed but decorated with
markings different for each village. They were made in shapes of frogs, birds or heads with wide eyes and
large ears for handles.
Basketwork cylinders These were made to extract the poisonous juice of cassava. Cassava was the
Arawaks main food, they made cassava cakes, pepperpot with cassava and a sauce called cassareep.
Kalinago
They painted their bodies to protect against the heat and insect bites made from vegetable dye and oil.
Fishing arrows and Spears were tipped with shell and bone and battle arrows were tipped with fire and
poison.
Boat Building- Caribs canoes might have been up to 6 metres long. It was made out of tree trunks. The
trunk was charred then hollowed with stone axes and left to season, after which it was buried in moist
sand. Bars were placed across the opening to the force out the sides and it was left in place until wood
had dried and hardened. Then triangular boards were wedged at the bow and stern so that the water
could not enter the boat, and the sides were raised by fastening sticks bound with fibres and coated with
gum to the upper edges. If this type of canoe overturned it did not sink, but instead could be righted by the
paddlers but instead rocked to slash out the water.
Maya
The Maya were the most advanced of the three Amerindian groups. They built beautiful structures and
were very good mathematicians.
Calendar- The Maya built round observatories from which their priests could observe the movement of
stars and planets. Here they developed calendars. Their calendar was as accurate as the one we use
today. The Maya had a 365 day year. This was called a haab, and consisted 18 months or uinals, each of
twenty days (kins). There was a five year period, which was considered as an unlucky period called
uayeb. The Maya also had a sacred calendar, which had 260 days. The Maya had another calendar called

the long count. This was a method of reckoning time by counting every single day from the beginning of
Maya History.
Pyramids- some were two hundred and twenty nine feet and were made of limestone cemented together
with powdered limestone.
Weapons-Spears and clubs tipped with obsidian, they used slings with stones the size of eggs, and
feathered shields to protect themselves and Mayan soldiers used tough padded cotton jackets to protect
their chest.