Taino
Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicLarge Figural Axe with Engraving, 900 - 1400 CE
On view
Black stone
Dimensions13 1/2 × 5 1/2 × 1 in. (34.3 × 14 × 2.5 cm)
Gift of Carol Ross, 2011.263
The Taino, who populated the islands of the Caribbean, were amongst the first indigenous people to meet Spanish explorers. When Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola in 1492, the native inhabitants of the island identified themselves as Tainos—a term that meant “good,” “prudent,” or “noble.”
