Taino Society Essay

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The Taino society before Columbus was just as complex and developed as any European society. The Taino people were the first Native American group that Columbus encountered in 1492 and was certainly the most populous group in the West Indies at the time. They inhabited the Bahamian Islands and all of the Greater Antilles. The Taino society was indeed before just as complex and developed as any other European society. This is indeed true as just like the European society, the Taino society had all the characteristics of a civilization allowing them to be just as complex and developed as any other European societies before Columbus’ arrival to the New World in 1492. These characteristics included having a social structure, a government, a stable food supply, a religion, technologies, a culture and writing. Social structure is the organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together compose society. In other words, it is the systems of levels in a society. This was evident in the Taino society as it was in the European society. In the Taino society there was two distinctive social groups on the social ladder. There was the Nitaino, the upper class and the lower class called the Naboria. The Cacique and his family along with the nobles, artist and warriors consisted of the upper class, the Nitaino. The Naboria, the working or lower class consisted of farmers, fishermen and hunters. It was a well-defined structure similar to that if the Europeans social structure where those who were in power was at the top along with their family which would be followed by the nobles and then the remaining population who had no special rank that would allow their movement up the social ladder. Government is also a next characteristic of civilization which the Tainos also had. It is usually a group of people who make laws and ensure that these laws
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