gives the main differences between the Mayan and Taino social and political structure during pre-Columbian period.

1. Subject: Atlantic History
Essay #1
Taino is defined as “a member of an aboriginal Arawakan people of the Greater Antilles
and the Bahamas”1 while Maya is “a member of a group of Indian peoples chiefly of Yucatán,
Belize, and Guatemala whose languages are Mayan.”2 Political structure or system refers to
“the set of formal legal institutions that constitute a government or a state”3, “Social structure
is sometimes defined simply as patterned social relations—those regular and repetitive aspects
of the interactions between the members of a given social entity”4 and lastly difference is
“something that makes one thing or person not the same as another thing or person.”5 Within
this essay I will discuss the difference between the Mayan and Taino social and political
structure during pre-Columbian period.
Firstly, I will discuss the difference between the Mayan and Taino social structure. One
difference between the two regard to housing and residence. The Taino build their houses and
lived in any open area that was available while for the Mayans the peasants were not permitted
to reside near the temples, the was exempted only to the Halach Uninic and the other nobles.
Mayan were very advanced archaeologically and so built many magnificent stone structures
such as their temples. “Stone making was especially developed among the Tainos, but they
seem not to have used it at all in building houses. It was primarily used for tools and especially
1 "Taino" Def. 2. Merriam Webster Online, MerriamWebster, n.d. Web. 4 October 2015.
2 "Maya" Def. 2. Merriam Webster Online, MerriamWebster, n.d. Web. 4 October 2015.
3 "Political System" Encyclopedia Britannica online,Encyclopedia Britannica N.p.,n.d. Web. 4 October 2015.
4 "Social structure" Encyclopedia Britannica online,Encyclopedia Britannica, N.p. n.d. Web. 4 October 2015.
5 "Difference" Def.1. McMillan dictionary Online, McMillan dictionary,n.d.Web. 4 October 2015.

2. religious artifacts.”6 Taino peasant houses were “round-to-oval caney, which had a high
pitched, conical thatched roof.” 7The Mayan peasant houses were also thatched houses but
instead of being round they were rectangular. The Halach Uninic’s house were built from stone
8however in the Cacique’s house was made from wood and made rectangular, called bohio, to
differentiate it from those of the peasants. “The division of labour between men and women [in
the Mayan society]was clearly defined: the men looked after building huts and caring for the
cornfields, and the women prepared food, made clothing, and tended to the family's domestic
needs” 9unlike the Taino whose women were responsible for both domestic housework and
farming while men did the fishing and hunting. According to Browne, it was the duty of the
women to do the planting of the crops, mainly the manioc or cassava and prepare it for
consumption.10 Another difference about the Mayan and Taino social structure was that the
Mayan’s had a very rigid social systemwhile the Tainos and no social class system. On an
everyday basis single Taino would go naked, married women would wear miniskirts and the
cacique would be dressed in his many fineries. Unlike the Taino the Mayan produced a wide
range of outfits for different occasions, including lavish dress for large public events; vibrant
dance costumes; protective armour for conflicts; sporting attire; and simpler, yet no less
sophisticated, clothing for everyday situations. Another point to note is that that Taino lived in
small communities as opposed to the Mayans who lived in grand cities.
6 “Daily Life” Taino Museum, Taino Museum, n.d. Web. 4 October 2015.
7 Keegan, WilliamF.and Carlson,Lisabeth A. Talking Taino: Caribbean Natural History from a Native Perspective.
Google Books. pg.5, n.d. Web.4 October 2015.
8 see http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/tulum-house.htm for pictures of the Halach unich’s house
9 “Maya Civilization”Canada Museumof History, Canada Museum of History,n.d. 4 October 2015
10 Browne, David V.C. Atlantic Interactions Kingston: Ian Randler,2013.Print.

3. Secondly,Iwill discussthe differencebetweenthe Mayanand Tainopolitical structure during
pre-Columbianperiod.The Mayangovernmentwasleadbuythe HalachUninicwhile the Cacique ledthe
Tainocivilization. Civilizations obtainedthroughhereditary however,womencouldbecome Caciques,if
herfatherhad no sons, as opposedtothe Mayan’s whose societywasstrictly patrilineal.Whichbring
me to anotherpoint,the Mayans were patrilineal asclearlystatedabove but “The Taino[were] thought
to have beenmatrilineal,tracingtheirancestrythroughthe female line”11
InMayan civilizationwomen
were notliberalizedandall the leadershiprolescouldonlybe filledbymenasopposedtothe Tainos
were “womenseemtohave participatedatall levelsinthe political hierarchy,bothwieldingpowerand
accumulatingwealth.”12
asopposedtothe Mayans.The HalachUninic’sleadershipstatuswasbasedon
wealthandmilitarypowerwhile cacique’s leadership was based strictly on a social basis. “Each of
the Maya states had a supreme military commander called a nacom. The nacom served a three
year term and was responsible for formulating military strategy and calling troops to battle. The
individual states also had a high priest who led a hierarchy of priests, determined the dates for
festivals and ceremonies, and foretold auspicious events for the ruler. The Halach Uninic
appointed the batabs, who were the overseers and administrators of dependent cities and
villages within the state.”13 The Tainos had no differentiated war leader as the cacique was
theirs and had no city leader as they lived in small communities instead women presided over
their homes.
In conclusion, many aspects of the Mayan and Taino social and political are different.
Some social differences are that Taino lived in small communities, did not use stone to build
11 “Taino Society” History Archaeology atthe Florida MuseumOf Natural History,Florida MuseumOf Natural
History n.d. Web. 4 October 2015
12 “Taino Society” History Archaeology atthe Florida MuseumOf Natural History,Florida MuseumOf Natural
History n.d. Web. 4 October 2015
13 “Maya Political Structure”Aztec and Maya Law, The University of Texas School of Law Tarlton Law Library Jamail
Center for Legal Research n.d. Web. 4 October 2015

4. houses, houses were round except the cacique’s, went naked, women worked the field and had
no class systemas opposed to Mayans who live in big cities, used stone to build houses of the
nobles, houses were rectangular, wore clothes, women did not work field and they had a rigid
class system. Some political difference was that they had a matrilineal society, leadership status
was not based on wealth and military power, women could become Cacique, the Cacique was
the war leader and had no batabs instead women were in charge of their house in Taino
civilization however, in that of the Mayan women could not become cacique, had a patrilineal
society, leadership power was based on wealth and military power, had naoms to lead in battle,
high priest and a batabs to govern over a particular city.