Arawak

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/arawak

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary unifying factor?Shared linguistic heritage within the Arawakan language family
2. What is the key societal branches?Distinguished groups such as the Lokono (mainland) and the Taíno (island dwellers)
3. What are the Arawak people?The Arawak were Indigenous peoples from northern South America and the Caribbean. They shared a common language family called Arawakan.
4. Who were the Taíno?The Taíno were Arawak people who lived on islands like Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. They were the main Indigenous group in the Greater Antilles before Europeans arrived.

Arawakan Language Family: A major group of related Indigenous languages spoken across parts of South America and the Caribbean, indicating shared ancestry.
Ethnonym: A word or name used to identify a particular ethnic group or people.
Pre-Columbian: Referring to the history and cultures of the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492.