Original Inhabitants

Bonaire’s first inhabitants were the Caquetios Indians, a branch of the Arawak who, around 1000 AD, sailed from what is now Venezuela. Traces of Caquetio culture are at a number of archaeological sites, including those at Lac Bay and northeast of Kralendijk.

Rock paintings and petroglyphs have survived at the caves at Spelonk, Onima, Ceru Pungi, and Ceru Crita-Cabai. The Caquetios were apparently a very tall people, for the Spanish dubbed the Leeward Islands ‘las Islas de los Gigantes’ (the islands of the giants).