Was Trinidad still connected to South America when the Ortoiroid peoples first settled Trinidad?
Dr. Basil Reid: Trinidad was already an island in 5000 BC, 7,000 years ago, when Banwari Trace was occupied. Trinidad became an island between the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene, approximately 12,000 years ago. During the Holocene, because of rising temperatures and melting glaciers, sea levels around the world rose considerably creating the Columbus Channel that now separates Trinidad from the South American mainland. Regarding the history of the West Indies: The Banwari Trace site was inhabited over a period of some 4000 years. The middens seem to be full of fresh water shellfish in quantities we no longer see in Trinidad. What made this site so attractive to these Archaic Peoples that they would return here repeatedly over such an extended period? Dr. Basil Reid: The presence of rivers, wetlands, Gulf of Paria (west of Trinidad) and an abundance of forests encouraged Archaic Peoples to occupy Banwari Trace. They were able to obtain a great variety of foods
