Taíno Indian Myth and Practice

“A path-breaking work, rich and mature, complex but readily accessible. It unites the many facets of . . . 25 years of innovative research and leads us out of the once-irresolvable dilemmas of contemporary archaeology.”—Geoffrey W. Conrad, William Hammond Mathers Museum, Indiana University

“Charts a new course toward a broader understanding of Taíno society, myth, and archaeology at the dawn of the Spanish colonial period. His approach livens the archaeological record and illuminates our reading of the documentary record.”—Dave D. Davis, Tulane University

“An excellent example of how oral traditions (mythology), historical sources, and archaeology can work together to provide richer, more complex views of the human past.”—Choice

“An open-minded combination of archaeology, ethnohistory, and cultural anthropology.”—Latin American Antiquity

“Explores the intersection of myths, beliefs and practices among the different participants who have written this history.”—Times of the Islands

“In this bold and original study William Keegan crafts a complex narrative that combines archaeology, ethnohistory, ethnology, and linguistics to argue that a famous contact period Taino chief, Caonabo, originated from a specific impressive site, MC-6 on Middle caicos.”—Journal of Anthropological Research

“Keegan’s discussion of the archaeological data of the Bahamian Archipelago in relation to Hispaniola provides an excellent, updated synthesis of important work that is not well known even among Caribbeanists.”—Cambridge Archaeological Journal

“Successfully synthesizes over 25 years of painstaking, innovative research and constitutes a much broader perspective on Taino myth and society than that offered by previous studies. Keegan’s . . . interpretations are erudite, original, and highly provocative.”—American Ethnologist

“A richly textured, deeply personal interpretation of one incident in Taino/Spanish contact relations, the capture and death of Cacique Caonabo, a principal chief of the Island of Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti) in 1494.”—Centro Journal

“A must read for all serious scholars of Caribbean prehistory and ethnohistory. Keegan skillfully plays documentary sources against the archaeological record to reveal the complex nature of Taino-Spanish interactions and the way mythology, both Taino and Spanish, structured those relations.”—New West Indian Guide