Resources For More Information
Availability Notations for Resources Below:
* = available at DOE Curriculum Centers
+ = available at the V.I. Humanities Council (St. Thomas location, but items can be shipped to St. Croix and St. John; 776-4044)
(This list does not include all books that may be found in school or public libraries.)
Teaching Kits:
*+ "Columbus Through the Eyes of the Calinas (Island Caribs) 1493," by Jacqueline Ashe. (information, drawings, story, activities)
*+ "Picture St. Croix, Then and Now," by Cynthia Hatfield.
(information, story, rubber stamp art supplies for Taino motifs)
Slides:
+ "The Art of the Taino from the Dominican Republic"
(59 slides of artifacts, with explanatory remarks about each)
Videos:
+ "Taino: Guanin's Story," by Edwin Fontanez. Exit Video, Washington, DC. (book-on-video, with companion bilingual book of activities and information)
+ "Hunters of the Caribbean Sea." "Spirits of the Jaguar" mini-series of the "Nature" series, BBC-TV, 1997. (the Tainos and their environment)
+ "Punta Candelero: A Window to the Past." Universidad de Turabo, Puerto Rico, 1992. (archaeology and an early Ceramic Age site of eastern Puerto Rico)
+ Footage of the Columbus Quincentenary Living History Program held on St. Croix, 1993 (Taino-style ball game, "areytos" of music and dance)
+ "Caguana," by José Oliver, 1992. (Taino religion; ball court complex of Puerto Rico)
* "V.I. Film Ser. 2. History." Dept. of Education. (V.I. archaeology, 1970s)
Elementary Student-Level Literature:
*+ Indigenous Peoples in Caribbean Prehistory: Two Stories for Children, companion to this booklet, distributed to school libraries by the VI Humanities Council. (illustrated booklet, part bilingual; stories about Island Carib and Taino children; upper elementary for self-reading)
+The Story of the Arawaks in Antigua & Barbuda, by D.V. Nicholson. Antigua Archaeological Society, 1983. (illustrated, upper elementary reading)
*Our Virgin Islands, by Thurston Child. 1930s.
Junior High Student-Level Literature:
+Altos de Chavón (Regional Museum of Archaeology, Dominican Republic), Quincentennial Catalog. La Romana: Fundación Centro Cultural Altos de Chavón. (easy bilingual text with lavish illustrations suitable for class)
*Clear De Road: A Virgin Islands History Textbook, by Roger Hill. USVI Dept. of Conservation & Cultural Affairs, 1983. (There is also a Teacher Guide, with more information about prehistory.)
+The Story of the Arawaks in Antigua & Barbuda, by D.V. Nicholson. Antigua Archaeological Society, 1983. (illustrated, upper elementary reading)
Adult-Level References:
MAINLY PREHISTORY
*+The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus, by Irving Rouse. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992. (comprehensive text)
*+Selected Presentations from the Public Conference "The People Who Encountered Columbus: Tainos and Island Caribs of the Lesser Antilles", various authors. Virgin Islands Humanities Council, 1996. (bound manuscripts)
*+Selected Readings for the Seminar "The Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean", various authors. Virgin Islands Humanities Council, 1996. (bound excerpts)
(+)The Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean, edited by Samuel M. Wilson. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. To be published in the fall of 1997.
*+Reflections on Taino Religion: Myths, Cemis and Sacred Ceremonies, by José R. Oliver, 1993. (bound manuscript)
+Some Observations on the Taino Language, by Arnold R. Highfield, 1996. (bound manuscript)
+They Came Before Columbus, by Ivan Van Sertima. New York: Random House, 1976.
MAINLY THE HISTORIC PERIOD
+The Tainos: The People Who Welcomed Columbus, by Francine Jacobs. New York: Putnam's Sons, 1992. (intended for popular reading; some illustrations)
*+St. Croix 1493: An Encounter of Two Worlds, by Arnold R. Highfield. St. Thomas, Virgin Islands Humanities Council, 1995. (eyewitness accounts; an Introduction also includes much information about prehistory.)
*+1492: Discovery, Invasion, Encounter, by Marvin Lunenfeld. Lexington: Heath, 1991.
*+A Guidebook to Resources for Teachers of the Columbian Encounter, Revised, ed. by David Buisseret and Tina Reithmaier. Chicago: Newberry Library, 1992.
*+The Biological Impacts of 1492: Some Interpretive Thoughts, by Richard L. Cunningham, 1992. (bound manuscript)
+Wild Majesty: Encounters with Caribs from Columbus to the Present Day, anthology edited by Peter Hulme and Neil L. Whitehead. Oxford: Claredon Press, 1992.
*+Post-Columbian Interactions Between the Island Caribs and the French: Legacy to the Lesser Antilles, by Aimery Caron, 1996. (bound manuscript)
+The Lesser Antilles in the Age of European Expansion, edited by Robert L. Paquette and Stanley L. Engerman. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996.
+Conquest of Eden: 1493-1515, by Michael Paiewonsky. Rome, St. Thomas: MAPes MONDe Editore, 1990.
+The Umbilical Cord: A History of the United States Virgin Islands from Pre-Columbian Era to the Present, by Harold W. L. Willocks. 1995.
A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States, by Isaac Dookhan. St. Thomas: College of the Virgin Islands, 1974.
Government and Community Organizations:
ALL ISLANDS:
V.I. Humanities Council 776-4044
 | Collection of books, videos, etc., for loan to teachers (no charge). Located on St Thomas, but items can be sent to St. Croix or St. John. |
ST. THOMAS:
Fort Christian Museum 776-4566
| Exhibits include prehistory. Guided tours for classes, call ahead. Auxiliary programs also coordinated with educators. |
DPNR Division for Archaeology and Historic Preservation 776-8605
| Oversees V.I. archaeology. Contact for information or for a staff member to visit your classroom with a slide show and/or sample of artifacts. |
Environmental Association of St. Thomas 776-1976
| Can provide presentations on a variety of subjects, including traditional plant use. |
ST. JOHN:
Virgin Islands National Park 776-6201
| Guided field trips with environmental, historic, and/or prehistoric focus. Classes may arrange to visit ongoing work by archaeologist Ken Wild when possible. |
ST. CROIX:
Fort Frederik Museum 772-2021
| Exhibits include prehistory. Arrange for a museum tour, a presentation in your classroom, or a field trip to a site. |
National Park Service, Christiansted 773-1460
| Beautiful prehistoric artifacts on display (Steeple Building). For tours, call ahead. |
St. Croix Environmental Association 773-1989
| Leads field trips to various areas of the island, including Salt River; sponsors school projects such as recycling, greenhouses, and environmental instruction. |
St. George Village Botanical Garden 692-2874
| Grounds include a Children's Pavillion and Heritage Gardens (West Indian vege- tables, medicinal herbs, dye and weaving plants, etc.). Call ahead for field trips. |
Estate Whim Plantation Museum 772-0598
| Tours arranged, call ahead. Teaching kits and information packets for teachers. |
Some Internet Addresses:(Links valid as of 2/6/00)
| Archaeology and Anthropology for K-12 Teachers: references to Internet resources |
http://www.execpc.com/~dboals/arch.html (Not valid as of 2/6/2000)
| Middle School Archaeology "Class": a web site for students |
| Lesson Plans for Social Studies |
| ArchNet: links for many archaeological topics |
| Native American Resources: links for a wide variety of related topics |
http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/ (Note: this is a "sticky site". You may not be able to 'back' here from there)
| National Park Service, Southeast Archeological Center (Caribbean jurisdiction) |
Three of the pre-Columbian symbols represented in the art and social studies teaching kit "Picture St. Croix, Then and Now" created by Cynthia Hatfield.
