The first inhabitants of modern-day Puerto Rico are the Tainos. This group of Indians were a subgroup of the Arawakan. The Tainos started to live in Puerto Rico, approximately 1000 AD. This group of Indians lived in small villages. They were gatherers and hunters. The crops they grew consisted of cassava, garlic, potatoes, sapota, guava and sugar apple. The Tainos were religious, believing in many gods. They believed that being in the good grace of their semis protected them from natural disasters and diseases. The cassava was an important crop to them because that's what they gave to their semis for protection. They also gave their semis something to drink and tobacco. They did dances as part of their culture because they were offered to
