Lucayan People

Lucayan People

The Lucayans (pronounced lu-KIE-an) were the original inhabitants of the Bahamas before the arrival of Europeans. They were a branch of the Taínos who inhabited most of the Caribbean islands at the time. The Lucayans were the first inhabitants of the Americas encountered by Christopher Columbus. The Spanish started seizing Lucayans as slaves within a few years of Columbus's arrival, and they had all been removed from the Bahamas by 1520.

The name "Lucayan" is an Anglicization of the Spanish Lucayos, derived in turn from the Taino Lukku-Cairi (which the people used for themselves), meaning "people of the islands". (The Taino word for "island", cairi, became cayo in Spanish and "cay" /ˈkiː/ in English .)

Some crania and artefacts of "Ciboney type" were reportedly found on Andros Island, but if some Ciboney did reach the Bahamas ahead of the Lucayans, they left no known evidence of occupation. Some possible "Ciboney" archaeological sites have been found elsewhere in the Bahamas, but the only one subjected to radiocarbon dating dated to the mid- to late-12th century, contemporaneous with Lucayan occupation of the islands.

Christopher Columbus's diario is our only source of first-hand observations of the Lucayans. Other information about the customs of the Lucayans has come from archaeological investigations and comparison with what is known of Taino culture in Cuba and Hispaniola. The Lucayans were distinguished from the Tainos of Cuba and Hispaniola in the size of their houses, the organization and location of their villages, the resources they used, and the materials used in their pottery.