The Amerindians
The Amerindians crossed the Bering Strait from Asia to the Americas in search of food. They entered Guyana some 11,000 years ago and were the earliest inhabitants in the country.
There are currently nine Amerindian ethnic groups in Guyana, each with their own language: Caribs, Akawois, Arawaks, Warrous, Macushis, Wapisianas, Arecunas, Patamonas, and Wai Wais.
The first group of Amerindians to settle in Guyana were the Warrous, whose original home is unknown. They were followed by the Arawak tribal family (comprising of the Arawaks and Wapisianas) who came from the Orinoco/Rio Negro area of South America. The Arawaks were likely followed by the Carib (which consisted of six smaller tribes: Akawaois, Patamonas, Arecunas, Macushis, Caribs and Wai Wais) who had likely migrated from the Xingu/Tapayoz are in Brazil.
They first settled around large pegasse swamps which had formed west of the Essequibo River.
They were initially hunters but later graduated to hunter-gatherers (about 7,000 years ago). A group of these hunter-gatherers settled at Barabina Hill near to Mabaruma around that period.
Some groups had established more permanent settlements in the North-West District and the Pomeroon, but their campsites were moved from time to time. Settlements were in the Mazaruni basin, the Pakaraima highlands, the Rupununi and the Berbice River.
Amerindians also practiced subsistence farming and made tools from stones, trees and bones.
The droughts resulted in a decline of starch supply and the Amerindians were forced to find alternatives, one of these being cassava. Cassava is now an important part of the Guyanese diet.
Some 4,000 years ago, groups of Amerindians began to move to inland areas following the flow of fresh water and animal food supply, after their initial settlements were affected by severe droughts.
Today, Amerindian groups mainly reside in hinterland areas. Akawois, Arecunas, Caribs, Macushis, Patamonas, Wapisianas and Wai Wais live in the interior, while Arawaks and Warraus live nearer to the coast.
References
Ishmael, O. (2005). The Guyana Story. Retrieved from http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/guyana_story.html
The Guyana Chronicle (2010). The Origins of Guyana’s Amerindians. Retrieved from http://guyanachronicle.com/the-origins-of-guyanas-amerindians/
Edwards, W. & Gibson, K. (1979). An Ethnohistory of Amerindians in Guyana. Ethnohistory. 26(2). 161-175.
Menezes, M. N. (1979). The Amerindians in Guyana. Great Britain: Frank Cass and Company Limited.