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On the islands of the Caribbean the Arawak were able to grow crops very easily. They raised their crops in a conuco, a large mound that was devised especially for farming. They packed the conuco with leaves to prevent soil erosion and planted a large variety of crops to assure that something would grow, no matter what weather conditions prevailed. Yucca was a staple of their diet and grew easily in a tropical climate. Since the agriculture was so good the Arawak had plenty of extra time to make crafts and play games. One of these games was a lot like soccer. With plenty of leisure, the Arawak devoted their energy to creative activities such as pottery, basket weaving, cotton weaving, stone tools and even stone sculpture. Men and women painted their bodies and wore jewelry made of gold, stone, bone and shell. They also had time to participate in informal feasts, and dances. The Arawak also drank alcohol made from fermented corn and they also used tobaccoacuminata N. alata N. attenuata N. bigelovil N. clevelandii N. debneyi N. excelsior N. exigua N. forgetiana N. glutinosa N. kawakamii N. knightiana N. langsdorffii N. longiflora N. obtusifolia N. otephora N. paniculata N. plumbagifolia N. quadrivalvis N. in cigars. The Arawak had organized systems of religion and government. They believed in both good and evil spirits, which could inhabit both human bodies and natural objects. They sought to control these spirits through their priests or shamans. The Arawak’s political system was a hierarchical one, in which the islands were broken up into groups, each island in turn was dicided into provinces ruled by chiefs known as caciques. The provinces were allocated into districts ruled by a sub-chief and each village was ruled by a head-man.
Estimates of the Arawak population range from 100,000 to 400,000 at the time of Columbus’ arrival, but by the 1500sCenturies: 15th century 16th century 17th century Decades: 1450s 1460s 1470s 1480s 1490s 1500s 1510s 1520s 1530s 1540s 1550s Years: 1500 1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 Events and Trends Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa External li their numbers had fallen to a few hundred at most. The main reasons for the Arawaks' massive decline was their lack of resistance to disease introduced by Europeans, especially smallpoxSmallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera is a highly contagious disease unique to humans caused by two virus variants called Variola major and Variola minor. major is the more deadly form, with a typical mortality of 20-40 percent o, and being mercilessly overworked by the Spanish in mines and on farms.