| List of Illustrations | |
| Preface | |
| Ch. I | Introduction | |
| The Natural Setting | 1 |
| The Tainos | 5 |
| Neighboring Ethnic Groups | 19 |
| Conclusions | 23 |
| Ch. II | The Ancestries of the Tainos | 26 |
| Cultural Ancestry | 30 |
| Linguistic Ancestry | 37 |
| Biological Ancestry | 42 |
| Conclusions | 45 |
| Ch. III | The Peopling of the West Indies | 49 |
| The Casimiroid Peoples, 4000-400 B.C. | 51 |
| The Ortoiroid Peoples, 2000-400 B.C. | 62 |
| The Ortoiroid-Casimiroid Frontier, 1000-400 B.C. | 67 |
| Conclusions | 69 |
| Ch. IV | The First Repeopling | 71 |
| The Saladoid Peoples, 2000 B.C.-600 A.D. | 74 |
| The Saladoid-Casimiroid Frontier, 200 B.C.-600 A.D. | 90 |
| The Western Ostionoid Peoples, 600-1500 | 92 |
| Conclusions | 101 |
| Ch. V | The Emergence of the Tainos | 105 |
| The Central Ostionoid Peoples, 600-1500 | 109 |
| The Eastern Ostionoid Peoples, 600-1640 | 123 |
| Beyond the Eastern Frontier, 600-1640 | 127 |
| Conclusions | 133 |
| Ch. VI | The Second Repeopling | 138 |
| The Voyages of Columbus, 1492-1504 | 139 |
| Conquest, 1494-1797 | 150 |
| Survival and Revival, 1524 On | 161 |
| Conclusions | 164 |
| Epilogue: The Tainos' Role in the Columbian Exchange | 169 |
| Biological Traits | 169 |
| Cultural Traits | 170 |
| Linguistic Traits | 171 |
| Conclusions | 171 |
| Glossary | 173 |
| References | 187 |
| Index | 203 |