c.

c. AD 1300 – 1500: Chicoid pottery became the predominant material expression in many parts of the northern Caribbean after AD 1300, a period often associated with the rise of “Taínoness.” This era is marked by the construction of large-scale earthworks, causeways, and roads that linked settlements into complex political networks. Authors Keegan and Hofman argue that the spread of the Chicoid aesthetic may have been driven by religious conversion or the influence of theocratic chiefdoms. This cultural expansion is evidenced by the pan-Antillean distribution of specific religious symbols and ceremonial objects. The archaeological record from this time closely aligns with the Spanish descriptions of caciques and cacicazgos.