Cacicazgo of Agueybana

Image of a duho from Puerto Rico's southern coast reproduced in Joanna Opstakowicz's Taíno Wooden Sculpture: Duhos, Rulership and the Visual Arts in the 12th-16th Century.

Although the extant corpus of Spanish sources isn't as detailed as Spanish accounts of chiefdoms on Hispaniola, there are tantalizing clues about the development of a possible paramount chiefdom led by Agueybana. Located on Puerto Rico's southern coast, most Spanish sources from the first half of the 16th century suggest Agueybana was the most senior of all caciques or perhaps "king" of the island. This notion is repeated by Oviedo, implied by a 1511 letter addressed to Agueybana from the Spanish monarch, and further implied by Agueybana II's leadership of the revolt against the Spanish. Indeed, Peter Martyr d'Anghiera wrote of Puerto Rico as under the domain of one king, presumably an allusion to the powerful chiefdom of Agueybana which may have occupied a position of economic, political and ritual power. Indeed, Martyr d'Anghiera based his brief description of Puerto Rico on information from natives of Puerto Rico who traveled on a ship from Columbus's 2nd Voyage. 

The cacicazgo, sometimes called Guaynia in older secondary sources, may have been near the modern town of Ponce or its environs. According to Sued Badillo, the site of Cayabo may have been the chiefly lineage of Agueybana. Elsewhere, in a book on Agueybana, he claimed his territory stretched from the cacique Yauco to the cacique Abey. Francisco Moscoso, in his study of caciques and aldeas on the island, suggested that the land of Agueybana included the mouth of the Coayuco river and the salines of the Guanica area. This region was particularly fertile, thereby allowing for a larger yuca production. Access to abundant sources of fish further favored a demographic expansion in this area. If one remembers Xaragua in Hispaniola, easy access to marine protein was one factor for its large population centers. Moreover, Agueybana's cacicazgo included more encomienda Indians, 600, assigned to Cristobal de Sotomayor. This encomienda included 70,000 mounds of Indian-styled conucos, suggesting the region was one of the leading centers of casabe production on the island and heavily populated. Moscoso tentatively estimated that the land of Agueybana may have included a total population of 3000 if one considers that the 600 encomienda Indians did not include the entire population but those fit for work. 

Jose Oliver, drawing on archaeological evidence and early colonial sources, suggests strong ties between Puerto Rico and eastern Hispaniola. The region of Higuey appears to have participated in similar symbolism of chiefly rank and may have engaged in intermarriage or guatiao relationships with the powerful cacicazgo on Puerto Rico's southern coast. Indeed, the name Agueybana was also used in La Saona and Cayacoa near Santo Domingo, perhaps suggestive of close relations between chiefly lineage groups in Higuey and other parts of Hispaniola with Puerto Rico. For example, there was a cacique of La Saona named Agueybana. Another cacique, in Higuey, was said to be related to the Agueybana of Puerto Rico. Further evidence can be seen in archaeological evidence of contacts across the Mona Passage that may stretch back to the 7th century in terms of cemis, stone collars and other artifacts, like duhos. It is possible that the cacicazgo later associated with Agueybana was one of these centers that engaged in relations with Hispaniola centuries before the Spanish conquest. 

Unfortunately, the development of the sugar industry likely destroyed many traces of the indigenous civilization that prospered in the area. But the clues from the colonial archive and archaeological evidence point to strong ties between Puerto Rico and eastern Hispaniola. These included important symbols and paraphernalia of chiefly lineages and status. That it was Agueybana II, the brother of Agueybana I, who was able to draw 30 caciques to fight against the Spanish in 1511 points to the status of this cacique as a respected leader. In terms of "rule" over the island, it was likely based on indigenous concepts in which tribute in labor may have been acquired over vassal caciques ruling individual valleys. Close ties to Hispaniola's east may have been a further factor in the status of Agueybana's cacicazgo as it could have been a source of prestigious trade goods. Indeed, trade with the south through the Lesser Antilles to South America may have been an additional factor as guanin and other highly valued imports could have reached Puerto Rico's southern coast before being traded to other parts of the island or Hispaniola. Lastly, the fact that Agueybana II could call upon so-called "Carib" allies in his conflicts against the Spanish in the 1510s may be another indication of a regional power with influence extending to the Lesser Antilles. As succession to the position of cacique in this cacicazgo appears to have been through the maternal line, one may surmise that the exchange of women as wives from this cacicazgo to others may have been seen as a prestige for allies and subordinate caciques.

Wayuu Match

Whilst playing around with Gedmatch, we came across some more recent kits for Wayuu peoples of South America. Since they appear to have been in contact or at least interacted with the Taino (or the ancestors of the Taino) based on linguistic evidence, we have always wondered if any Wayuu would match Caribbean peoples with indigenous ancestry genetically. Well, we seem to have encountered one we share 6.1 cM of DNA with on a segment of our second chromosome. Assigned to "Indigenous Puerto Rico" by Ancestry, this seems to suggest the indigenous component of Puerto Rican ancestry is similar to the genetics of the Wayuu and other Arawakan speakers of this part of South America. In order to confirm our findings, however, one must thoroughly check the segment and see if any other matches can be found there for indigenous segments in Puerto Ricans and Wayuu. Of course, one must also consider the large-scale slave trade of indigenous captives from the circum-Caribbean into the Caribbean by the Spanish during the 1500s. From the limited tools of Gedmatch, the shared segment appears to be "Amerindian" if one trusts admixture chromosome painting tools. However, there is only one Wayuu sample we share at least 6 cM of DNA with. 

Indigenous Americas Update (2025)

In terms of Indigenous Americas ancestry, the algorithm used by Ancestry still inflates "Taino" ancestry in Puerto Ricans. The overall "Puerto Rico" estimate remained at 9%, but the "Bolivia & Peru" decreased slightly to a fraction of 1%. The appearance of "Central America" was the new aspect of this update. Like the case of indigenous peoples of the Andes, we assume this is capturing some of the component parts of the genetic makeup of the "Tainos." The Central America region as defined by Ancestry seems to emphasize El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua and is possibly related to the "Taino" through ancient pathways or migrations from Central America into South America (or vice-versa). It would be very useful for Ancestry to tell us which indigenous groups from Central and South America they're using here.  

23andme Update for Indigenous Ancestry

A close relative from Haiti took 23andme and shared their updated results with us. The update for ancestry composition focuses on Europe and the Indigenous Americas while eschewing "Broadly" categories. In the case of our relative, who as a Haitian, only has minor indigenous origins, their assigned to the "Central Andean and Amazonian" category. This is interesting since AncestryDNA's algorithm assigned this person's indigenous ancestry to the "Indigenous Bolivia & Peru" category. Unfortunately, there are no historical matches for this person from any indigenous background and we have no paper trail for Amerindian ancestry in our Haitian lineage. Is this ancestry from the Taino of Hispaniola? If so, why no historical matches with Pre-Columbian samples? Or is this something else, perhaps from the French colonial period when indigenous people from other parts of the Americas were brought to Saint Domingue?

The Development of the Inca State

Brian Bauer's The Development of the Inca State pushes against the standard narrative of the rise of the Inca state. Instead of accepting the c.1438 date and the legendary exploits of Pachacuti against the Chancas and his role in forming the Inca state, Bauer suggests literal interpretations of narratives from the Spanish chronicles contain mytho-historical elements that require careful interpretation and, when possible, archaeological evidence. Thus, instead of viewing the rise of an Inca state and its dominion extending beyond Cuzco during the 15th century reign of Pachacuti, it is likely that the rise of an Inca state was a gradual one that likely developed over centuries. This incipient Inca state may be seen in the Cuzco region, including Paruro (an area whose ethnic groups were part of the Inca by  privilege status), through the widespread appearance of Killke ceramics, certain iconography shared across them, and the persistence of settlement patterns over a period from c.1000-1400 (and beyond) as revealed through ayllus and moiety structures verified by colonial-era administrative reports and ethnographic evidence. 

Indeed, the Incas of Cuzco may have already dominated the valley and nearby regions like Paruro long before Pachacuti and his father in the 1400s. The chapter on ceramic evidence points to the widespread finds of Killke pottery styles in Paruro and across the Cuzco valley to argue that this distribution across a vast region and some of the shared designs and patterns may point to Cuzco domination or rule possibly as early as the 1100s and 1200s. The radiocarbon dates are inconclusive but he also claims from settlement pattern analysis from the so-called Killke period sites to sites he labels as "Inca" (he means imperial Inca from the 1400s on) support the idea that the area of Paruro (including Pacariqtambo) was included within the Inca de Privilegio category. Furthermore, there are practically no Killke sites with fortifications, pushing against the idea that before Incas like Pachacuti or his father, Viracocha, the Cuzco region was torn apart by chronic warfare between different communities. This suggests that the Cuzco region may have already been under the control or influence of Cuzco's rulers in the Killke era, perhaps through nonmilitary means. This subordination of areas like Pacariqtambo's ethnic groups then used the myth of Manco Capac to justify the overlordship of the Incas by blood, who later constructed Maukallaqta to commemorate Manco Capac and the Pacariqtambo origin myth.

Bauer claims at least 8 Inca-period sites in Paruro (by Inca period he means after 1400) were the sites of ayllus relocated by the reducciones of Viceroy Toledo in 1571 or 1572. He further speculates that these are the ayllus of the Tambo group/ethnic group and that moieties and ayllu structures in this region appear to have been continued from the Killke sites/ceramic traditions. Unknown, but incipient state formation could have happened as early as 1000 CE. with a long-term continuity in settlement-subsistence patterns and village level organization. The only Inca period sites with stone monuments appear to have no administrative capacity, suggesting the area of Pacariqtamo and surrounding regions may have long been incorporated into the Inca state. With the imperial period, perhaps Incas by Privilege were then used in the administration of the Empire or resettled in conquered provinces. Yet, there is no evidence of Inca-period resettlements in Paruro, again suggestive of a region that had long been part of the Cuzco state before its imperial phase. 

Cholo Soy

A Peruvian musical gem by Luis Abanto Morales.

Astronomy and Empire in the Ancient Andes: The Cultural Origins of Inca Sky Watching

Reading Bauer and Dearborn on astronomy in the Inca Empire was somewhat disappointing. But, it sounds like Zuidema's theories about Inca astronomy, the Inca calendar, and astronomical significance of the ceque system of Cuzco is not supported by archaeological evidence...nor is it always backed by the written sources from the 1500s-1600s. But Bauer and the other author here have little to say otherwise given the limited nature of the sources and the difficult of confirming it through astronomical observations of sites in the Cuzco area. However, they think the Inca calendar was a solar and lunar one with an additional intercalated lunar one to align them. Unfortunately, the authors were unable to locate any evidence from sites in the Cuzco valley for observatories or markers for star observation, but the evidence for pillar markers for solar observations and the solstices is evident, although the pillars themselves have not survived the looting of Cuzco sites or time. The Pleiades were also very important in Inca and Andean sky watching but there's so much in the book that is just lightly suggested or said to be plausible yet impossible to be certain given the lack of ethnographic, textual, or archaeological sources. I guess they lean in favor of a 1528 death for Huayna Capac based on known comets and astronomical phenomena of the 1520s. It is unfortunate, although one must agree with the contention of the authors that astronomy and the ritual calendar must have been centralized and standardized by the Inca imperial administration with the aid of khipus. This would have strengthened the claims to power and legitimacy via descent from the Sun by the Inca ruling elites across the Andes.