Beastie from the Bahamas!or, Artifacts of a People |
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| When Columbus and company made landfall in the Caribbean, in or near the Bahamas, the explorers encountered an Arawak Indian group who called themselves the Lukku-caire or Island People. The Lucayans, as they came to be known, suffered a dire fate at Spanish hands. Most of the population were enslaved and transported to work in the mines of Hispaniola and Cuba. | By 1520, the Bahamas had nearly been depopulated of the indigenous tribes. A few relics of this vanished people survive. Some of the Lucayan objects are depicted in a set of stamps issued by the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1973. | |||
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Among these humble artifacts is a striking fragment of a duho or stool which appears to have been carved into the likeness of a carnivorous dinosaur! | |||
The Lucayans originated in the South American mainland and settled in the Bahamas about 750 AD. The creature may have been a fetish or a totemic spirit, but if intended as the realistic depiction of an existing animal, then it raises some interesting questions about the fauna of the New World during this period.
Did Tyrannosaurus stride through the jungles of South America - or even the Bahamas - in recent time? The thought intrigues...
Any reader who has information about this curious artifact is invited to write in and share their knowledge- or their speculation. Photographs of dinosaur sightings taken from cruise ships in the Caribbean are especially welcome! Observations and information will be published in the next Mystery Box issue.
The Turks and Caicos Islands were originally a dependency of Jamaica and have been issuing postage stamps since 1900. Their status is that of a crown colony within the British Commonwealth.