c.

c. AD 1200 – 1500: During the Late Ceramic Age in eastern Hispaniola, the Yuma region (specifically the site of Atajadizo) served as a major political and ceremonial center. Research by M. Veloz Maggiolo and colleagues indicates that the site featured large earthen mounds and plazas that functioned as public spaces for the performance of areítos and other communal rituals. The material remains, including high-status Chicoid pottery and elaborate stone collars, suggest that the leaders of Atajadizo exerted significant influence over the surrounding agricultural communities. This regional dominance was a hallmark of the centralized chiefdoms that characterized the Greater Antilles prior to European contact.