History of Venezuela: Nomadic, Sedentary, and Ancient Periods
History of Venezuela
Who Studies History?
History is the science that studies the political, social, and cultural events of the world, country, past, and present.
Nomadic vs. Sedentary
Nomadic: An individual or community that has no fixed abode and moves constantly in search of resources for subsistence.
Sedentary: An individual or community that has a fixed residence and remains long in one place, from where it obtains the resources required.
Characteristics of Sedentary Groups
Sedentary groups:
- Were sedentary.
- Developed ceramic objects.
- Engaged in fishing and hunting.
- Were organized into tribes and led by a Cacique.
- Built houses and lived in villages.
Route of Entry for Antarctica
Australians came to land in areas of the South Pole. Therefore, there is much similarity between the Australians and the Patagonians. They brought the culture of leather.
Means of Penetration of the Bering Strait
The Bering Strait was used by men and women organized in groups to move from Siberia to Alaska and along the American shores, passing through North America, Asia, Central, and South America.
Peopling of Venezuela
The oldest inhabitants of Venezuela were specialized hunters who moved around 14,000 years ago, and marine Mesoindio collectors, who were mobilized along the eastern coast for about 5,000 years.
Later, between 1200 and 1000 BC, groups became involved in agriculture and pottery, becoming sedentary.
Around 1300 AD, the Caribs arrived in Venezuelan territory and expanded, making contact with the Spanish conquistadors along with the Arawak and other ethnic groups.
Ancient Period (14000 BC – 1498 AD)
The ancient period is the longest stage of Venezuelan history, extending from the arrival of the first settlers to the incursion of the Spanish conquistadors. At this stage, we find the presence of the following communities:
Paloindio Hunters (14,000 – 5000 BC)
They were contemporaries of now-extinct animals such as mastodons, theriums, mega glyptodonts, and other aboriginal species, which they hunted with stone tools. The first stone tools (lithic) were large, crude, produced by percussion, and then refined to produce sharp knives, arrowheads, and spears. Initially located in western Venezuela, in what corresponds to Falcon state today.
Gatherers of Mesoindio (5000 – 1000 BC)
They moved towards the coastal areas and engaged mainly in fishing and gathering shells. In addition to serving as food, shells were used to make hooks and gouges. Semi-nomadic communities were grouped into bands that supplemented their diet with game and vegetables. They constructed canoes for navigation and fabricated milling tools, fishing nets, shell fish hooks, axes, gouges, etc.
Elevators and Metals
Elevators: A tool generally elongated and pointed, used in the preparation and decoration of pieces of clay and wood.
Metals: A type of hand mill used by several different American Indian peoples.
The Neo-Indian Farmers (1000 BC – 1498 AD)
The most important change in Venezuelan indigenous groups was the introduction of pottery, because it replaced instruments made from natural elements like stone and shell, and allowed them to retain liquid and solid food for longer.
They were sedentary farming communities that began in the Orinoco and then spread throughout the land. Farmers reached village life without achieving urban development. Those who were located in low areas, near rivers, lakes, and coasts, developed agriculture mainly based on the cultivation of cassava roots, exploiting the resources of the forests and rivers to hunt, fish, and gather fruits. Those who ranked high in the areas developed cultivation techniques such as irrigation, the construction of canals, silos, and terraces, and adopted corn crops.
Contact Period (1498 – 1600 AD)
This is the stage during which the meeting between the Venezuelan Indians and Spanish conquerors occurred.