Topic 2 Arrival of the first human populations in the Lesser Antilles: the Amerindians

The first inhabitants of the island were the Arawak Indians, then the Kalinago. Originally from Amazonia and Venezuela, these Amerindians lived from hunting, fishing and agriculture. The cultivated were manioc, corn and squash. They developed agricultural techniques adapted to the climate (high humidity) and the terrain. The market gardening was carried out on cleared and burned lands in order to increase the fertility of the soil and to limit work. When the soil became less fertile a new area was cleared and the first plot was left fallow (crop rotation in space). This type of garden is called « camp garden »