Archaeologists say early Caribbeans were not 'savage cannibals', as colonists wrote

Researchers in Antigua hope to correct 'speculative and erroneous' colonial accounts that depict the Carib people as ferocious man-eaters

For centuries, historians held that the Caribbean's earliest inhabitants were peaceful farmers who were wiped out by the ferocious man-eating Carib people. But archaeologists in Antigua say new evidence from one of the most important sites in the region is helping to correct "speculative and erroneous" accounts passed down from early colonists.

The excavation at a 12-acre site in Indian Creek has prompted a reassessment of older narratives, said Dr Reg Murphy, who is leading a team from Syracuse University, Farmingdale State College and Brooklyn College.