Los Roques Pre Hispanic History Hot
The first humans to set foot in Los Roques left their tracks in the beaches possibly 2000 to 3000 years ago, according to findings discovered on the keys such as the great mounts of Botuto shells blackened over time and attributed to the activity of ancient man.
These men did not know of agriculture nor pottery. Possibly they were hunters and gatherers who came from the mainland and the islands west of Los Roques Curacao or Aruba. Apparently they came here for the catching of Botuto, however little is known about them, their social organization, spiritual life or fishing practices.
How did they cross the open sea 160 kilometers from the mainland?
At the beginning of the the second millennium of the Christian era the first bearers of pottery arrived in the islands. These were farmers and and fishermen who came from the bays of the Venezuelan coast, from Boca Tacagua and Ocumare de la Costa towards the west. These navigators known archaeologically as Ocumaroids brought with them pottery painted with painted parallel lines and triangles in red and white besides a great number of pots and other non decorated pottery.
These peoples chose as their settlement the small key of Dos Mosquises Norte located at the south western end of the archipelago. This is the only Ocumaroid settlement known in the Venezuelan territory. They would come to this settlement for relatively short periods of time. They would transport drinking water, pots vegetables beans and personal jewelry. They also brought small statues made of clay representing men and women. When they went back to the mainland they would carry dried Botuto or salted meat, turtles and fish as well as Botuto Conch.
Around the year 1300 of our time another group known as the Valenciaoids arrived in their canoes in Los Roques.
These peoples made a pretty big settlement in the south of Dos Mosquises. One of the most outstanding features of these people who came from settlements around Lake Valencia were the many elaborated small human ceramic statues. Thousands of these small statues have been found in and around Lake Valencia in the central part of Venezuela, and quite a few in the National park of Los Roques. >>
See also map of Los Roques.