The Rio Nuevo Taino Site, in St. Mary, is an important piece of Jamaica’s history. A long time ago, the Taino people, Jamaica’s first inhabitants, lived here. They were skilled farmers, craftsmen, and builders, and they left behind artifacts and structures that tell us how they lived before Europeans came to the island. The site covers a large area, about the size of four football fields, and is named after the Rio Nuevo River that runs nearby.
Today, the site is split into two parts because a road was built through it. The southern part, owned by a housing development, was damaged years ago when machines cleared the land for planting coconut trees. Unfortunately, this destroyed much of the history there. The northern part, owned by someone named George Rose, is in better shape, although another road built in the 1970s also caused some damage.
Researchers and archaeologists have found amazing things at the site, like tools and pottery the Taino used. There are even pieces of walls from …
