Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean Constructed Roads and Causeways

 

Stone structures at the Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Tibes, Ponce, Borikén. Tibes preserves plazas, stone alignments, constructed walks, and other features that demonstrate a long Indigenous tradition of shaping and organizing ceremonial landscapes. Photo: Ligocsicnarf89 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Did You Know: Archaeological sites across the Caribbean preserve evidence that Indigenous Peoples constructed roads, causeways, and other prepared pathways. At Chacuey in Kiskeia (Dominican Republic), archaeologists documented parallel stone-cobble causeways associated with a major ceremonial complex that extended toward the Río Chacuey for more than 600 meters. In Borikén (Puerto Rico), constructed roads and causeways have also been documented at Indigenous ceremonial centers, including Caguana, Tibes, and other sites.

The precise purposes of these structures remain open to interpretation. Some may have facilitated movement between important places, while others may have had ceremonial or political functions—or served several purposes at once. What the archaeological evidence makes clear is that the Indigenous landscape encountered by Europeans was not simply a collection of isolated iukaieke (yucayeque). Taíno Peoples shaped and organized the landscapes around their settlements, rivers, ceremonial centers, and other important places.

Background Sources:
Samuel M. Wilson, The Indigenous People of the Caribbean / archaeological discussion of Chacuey
Miguel Rodríguez, archaeological studies of Indigenous ceremonial centers in Borikén
Irving Rouse, The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus
Sebastián Robiou Lamarche, Taínos y Caribes: Las culturas aborígenes antillanas