Early History:
The Ciboneys
Although not much is known about the Ciboney people who inhabited the islands during the Stone Age, archaeological evidence seems to indicate that they were hunter-gatherers. They made tools of stone and flint but left few other artifacts behind.
The Arawaks
The Arawaks developed intricate social and cultural lives. For recreation, they held organized sporting events. They also valued artistic endeavors, such as cave painting and rock carving, some of which have survived to the present. Religion played a large role in their daily lives, and through ceremonial rituals they asked their gods for advice to help them through troubled times. Their civilization flourished for several hundred years until the Caribs invaded.
The Caribs
While the Caribs came from the same area as the Arawaks and may have been distantly related, they did not share the Arawaks' friendly nature. Not only were they fierce warriors, they supposedly feasted on their adversaries. Their bloodthirsty reputation spawned the English word cannibal, derived from the name the Spanish gave them, Caribal.
Whether or not they actually ate their victims, the Caribs did destroy numerous Arawak villages, murdering as many as they could. By the mid-15th century, the Caribs had slashed the Arawak population from several million to a few thousand. But even the Caribs were no match for the gold-hungry Europeans who were about to descend.