The
Ciboney were
pre-ColumbianThe pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
indigenous inhabitants of the
Greater AntillesThe Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
in the
Caribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. The name Ciboney derives from the indigenous
Taíno peopleThe Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
which means Cave Dwellers; evidence has shown that a number of the Ciboney people have lived in caves at some time. Over the years, many theories have been brought forth as to how the Ciboney people arrived to the Caribbean. Many of these theories have a weak foundation due to insufficient evidence. It is explained in the book
Liberties Lost: Caribbean Indigenous Societies and Slave Systems (2004), "The most popular view now is that the Ciboney were from pre-farming cultures that entered the Antilles from
South AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, not as one ethnic group, but as waves of different migrants over a very long period of time." Study of genetic specimens seems to support this South American origin, and possibly Central American, as well.
When the Europeans arrived, the Ciboney had already been driven by their powerful
TaínoThe Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
neighbors to western
HispaniolaHispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
(
HaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
) and western
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. The Ciboney of Cuba and Hispaniola were culturally different from each other; those of Cuba went by the name
GuanajatabeyThe Guanahatabey were indigenous inhabitants of Cuba, They numbered about 100,000 and had lived on the island since at least 1000 B.C. They are considered to be the earliest inhabitants of the island. Hunters, gatherers, and farmers, these native Cubans cultivated cohiba , a crop upon which the...
. Within a century after European contact, the Ciboney were extinct.
The
Ciboney languagesThe Ciboney languages are the presumed languages of Cuba, Hispaniola, and the other islands of the Antilles which preceded the Arawakan and Cariban languages Taíno and Galibi....
are unattested apart from a single word of Guanajatabey.