Page 50 - NEWSPAPER MEDIA MONITORING JANUARY 15TH, 2019

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LOCAL Tuesday 15 January 2019

Episode I: old records, books and in fossil ex-
hibits in museums or stored in ware-
Coming from the North houses around the globe as testi-
mony of their once existence and

Plate 2:. Map of the continent and the as world extinct fauna collections.
Among the extinct mega fauna
Caribbean sea. Locating Aruba as a we find the camel, giant armadillo,
red. short-faced bear, long-horned bi-
Bays of Aruba son, mastodon, tapir, ground sloth,
We must try to imagine by pictur- saber-toothed tiger, mammoth,
ing how the southern coast was dire wolf, and horses on the Ameri-
covered whit a thick mix of many can continent (the present horse
mangroves varieties that had their was later reintroduced by the con-
roots in the sea direct in front of the quistadors) In the beginning of the
coast line, forming impenetrable Paleo-Lithic era, occupation of the
and different kind of forests this American continent started by ar-
time, these mangroves offered on chaic hunters who followed these
its part, a great deal of marine re- big mammals like the mammoth
sources including timber. Coastal in to North America. One possible
mangrove forests grew so thick route that these hunters could
and dense that it only gave way in have followed to reach the Carib-
a few places to reach shore with bean was from the Floridian pan
dug out tree trunk canoes. These handle jumping island to island till
access points to the shore, in time reaching the southern continent or
became bays and some are still jumping from the Yucatan penin-
in use today. Places like the Com- sula to Cuba and the islands. And
mandeursbaai at Savaneta or the most probable route of access-
Plate 1. Preceramic hunthers and gatherers the Spanish Lagoon, Barcadera, ing Aruba most have been from
the Lagoon and Paardenbaai in the South American continent.
ORANJESTAD — Nothing stood in their way and nowhere in the new Oranjestad. However, there used This would have been the short-
world seems to have been too far to reach, if it only offered enough to be another bay in Oranjestad est and easiest way to reach the
resources to make life easier. It was the time when atmospheric con- which was called Taratata , the island. There is no doubt that the
ditions indicated that the average temperature -about twelve thou- only bay that carried the Toponym distance must have been closer to
sand years ago- was six to twelve degrees cooler than it is today, in or name given by our Paleo hunt- the isthmus of Paraguaná and sea
the southwestern Caribbean area. Climate conditions were drier, but it ers. It is what probably meant, the levels where 60 to 90 meters lower
gradually became more humid than what it is in present days. This was place of arrival, related to Taratara further in time. The land that today
the time of the preceramic hunters and gatherers. in Venezuela that means, place forms the land stretched out till the
of departure in the Paleolithic lan- foot of the Sta. Anna hill in South
Yes, Aruba`s landscape was also covered with a greater amount of guage. Regrettably Taratata has America, so that the island was
flora in that time. The overall conditions in which these ancient ma- been absorbed with the expan- attached to the South American
rauders found this land upon their arrival was in every aspect much sion of the late container haven land mass beyond sea level, since
more favorable for people that were cultured and trained to carry at Paardenbaai together with its we are positioned on the conti-
everything with them on their back or as required, have technical skills name almost forgotten in time. nental shelf, meaning that many
and make use of plants. Like to be able to read the slightest atmo- animals and variety of sub-archaic
spheric variations to predict the weather conditions or that greater Greater Area cultures within an archaic context
sense of smell that was developed to distinguish scents of different Many different animals lived in the during thousands of years could
animals, coming rain or ripen fruits. All this together and more con- greater area, some familiar but have reached this part of the world
tributed to an easy and a sustainable way of life in a harsh and wild many others only exists today in by just walking.q
environment.
Anthony Croes is an Etnia Nativa based artist at
Mother Earth Westpunt, originally from Companashi. As a kid,
The island`s landscape and topography in many areas offered perfect he demonstrated a natural interest and respect
layouts that formed zones where people were able to walk for hours for his old world heritage as well as his natives’ an-
under a green canopies of rain forest, where trees blocked the incom- cestor’s history and their survival challenges. This
ing sun light during the whole year. Forest consisting of mixed vegeta- same interest encouraged him to pursue anthro-
tion made out of ferns, orchids, vines and bromeliads Etc. Many of pological studies as an academic call. For some-
these plants have long disappeared and are to be considered extinct one with such interest in cultural expressions it is no
varieties, lost forever. Who knows what medicinal properties, food surprising that Aruba Today welcomes him as our
source, color pigment or even an effective insect or vermin repeller newest columnist. Every Tuesday his column Island
these plants could have carried? Even though it is a small island, there Insight will be published in our newspaper. Enjoy!
were also places that were open grasslands or savannas covered with
cactus and xerophilous, while other zones where made out of wet
lands and natural salt pans. However there were no mango tree or
coconut palms, tamarind juice or watermelons and everything they
knew about electricity was that he was the father of fire, wind and
water and that the earth was their mother and mother of all things.
He, who came from beyond the clouds and lit up the night skies with
his flash and thundering voice.