La fabricación del taíno. Concepto étnico-cultural y desventajas de una nomenclatura para la historia insular caribeña

Abstract

Constantino Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz propuso el término taíno en 1836 como lengua y raza de Haití (Ayti) logrando un impresionante éxito académico durante casi dos siglos. Este fenómeno científico alteró la cultura y la historia de las naciones nativas y las sociedades tribales precolombinas en el marco espacial de Cuba, Puerto Rico, República Dominicana y Haití. Esta tesis doctoral organiza una investigación analítica que revisa el estado de la ciencia para identificar soluciones a la estandarización del término taíno y su terminología. Con base en el extenso material bibliográfico, probamos los patrones cronológicos actuales para identificar el estado actual del conocimiento de los expertos y las comunidades con respecto a las culturas nativas.

Constantin Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz proposed the term Taíno in 1836 as a language and race of Haiti (Ayti) achieving an impressive academic success for nearly two centuries. This scientific phenomenon altered the culture and history of pre-Columbian native nations and tribal societies in the spatial framework of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. This doctoral thesis organizes an analytical investigation reviewing the state of the science to identify solutions to the standardization of the Taíno term and its terminology. Based on the extensive bibliographic material, we tested the current chronological patterns to identify the current state of knowledge of experts and communities regarding the native Caribbean cultures and history. We point out results aimed at restoring ethnonyms, exonyms, and the history of pre-Columbian natives in the Caribbean, interlacing concepts such as the rebirth and survival of the Caribbean native culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, based on the recent DNA results and societal needs. Therefore, a scientific terminology without historical basis cannot be representative of communities that would confuse it with a real ancestor.