Taino Indian Myth and Practice: The
Arrival of the Stranger King (Florida
Museum of Natural History: Ripley P.
Bullen Series) by WILLIAM F.
KEEGAN
Ethnohistory And Archaeology As It Should Be Done....
A path-breaking work, rich and mature, complex but readily accessible. It
unites the many facets of . . . 25 years of innovative research and leads
us out of the once-irresolvable dilemmas of contemporary archaeology.--
Geoffrey W. Conrad, William Hammond Mathers Museum, Indiana
University Charts a new course toward a broader understanding of Taino
society, myth, and archaeology at the dawn of the Spanish colonial
period. His approach livens the archaeological record and illuminates our
reading of the documentary record.--Dave D. Davis, Tulane University
Applying the legend of the stranger king to Caonabo, the mythologized

Taino chief of the Hispaniola settlement Columbus invaded in 1492,
Keegan examines how myths come to resonate as history--created by the
chaotic interactions of the individuals who lived the events of the past as
well as those who write and read about them. The stranger king story told
in many cultures is that of a foreigner who comes from across the water,
marries the kings daughter, and deposes the king. In this story, Caonabo,
the most important Taíno chief at the time of European conquest, claimed
to be imbued with Taino divinity, while Columbus, determined to establish
a settlement called La Navidad, described himself as the Christbearer.
Keegans ambitious historical analysis--knitting evidence from Spanish
colonial documents together with data gathered from the archaeological
record--provides a new perspective on the encounters between the two
men as they vied for control of the settlement, a survey of the early
interactions of the Tainos and Spanish people, and a complex view of the
interpretive role played by historians and archaeologists. Presenting a
new theoretical framework based on chaos and complexity theories, this
book argues for a more comprehensive philosophy of archaeology in
which oral myths, primary source texts, and archaeological studies can
work together to reconstruct a particularly rich view of the past.
Personal Review: Taino Indian Myth and Practice: The Arrival of
the Stranger King (Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P.
Bullen Series) by WILLIAM F. KEEGAN
As an archaeologist, I often wish there were better ways to bring the past
to life, as it were. The best archaeology should illuminate the past in a way
that brings the people of past human cultures into reality for the modern
observer; all too often, lack of information about people and individuals
render this goal elusive.
This book, by William Keegan of the Florida Museum of Natural History, is
one of the best efforts I have ever read to bring a past human culture, and
past human individuals as well, to life. Keegan's study, focusing on the
archaeological sites associated with several Taino caciques - chiefs -
weaves myth, history, archaeology, personal experiences with modern
people of the Caicos Islands and with modern researchers, into a
fascinating, convincing narrative. Focusing on Guacanagari, the cacique
who allied with Columbus and the Spanish at first contact, and Caonabo,
the "stranger king" of the narrative who opposed the Spanish, Keegan
makes a convincing case for having found the site of Caonabo's home -
thus bringing not just a past culture but a unique individual to life for the
modern reader.
Keegan's book is a must-read for all archaeologists who want to
understand how true "postprocessual" archaeology can and should be
done, and it is a fascinating interpretation of the sites and people
associated with the discovery of the New World for any reader. I strongly
recommend this book for anyone with an interest in understanding the role
of myth. belief, and thought in the creation of human culture.

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