泰诺印第安人是美洲大安得列斯群岛原始文化的创始者。其文化发源于波多黎各和希斯帕巴奥拉,以后扩展到附近的维尔京群岛、牙买加及巴哈马群岛。大约在公元十至十五世纪,泰诺印第安文化达到了全盛时期。1442年之前发展到古巴东端的时期,这种文化也就衰落了(图一)。图一泰诺印第安文化的分布泰诺印第安人是农业部落。其语言属阿拉瓦干语系中的一种方言。他们的社会早已分化,等级鲜明,以部落酋长为首的贵族集团统治着一切。贵族集团包括祭司(萨满)和称为尼太 Taino Indians are the founding members of the Native American Great Antilles. Its culture originated in Puerto Rico and Heath Pablo and later extended to the nearby Virgin Islands, Jamaica and the Bahamas. About the tenth to fifteenth century AD, Taino Indian culture reached its heyday. This culture also declined as it progressed to the eastern end of Cuba by 1442 (figure 1). Figure 1 Taino Indian Culture Distribution Taino Indians are agricultural tribes. Its language is a dialect of the Aravagan language family. Their society has long been divided and distinctly hierarchical. The aristocratic conglomeration headed by the tribal chief ruled everything. Aristocrats include priests (shamans) and nephews