Reconstruction of a Taino village. Image retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ta%C3%ADno&oldid=651745566
The Classic Taíno lived in large, permanent villages in Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Villages were organized irregularly around a central plaza, with the Cacique’s (chief) home situated on the plaza. Villages are estimated to be an average of 1,000- 2,000 people and anywhere between a single building to fifty houses.
Homes were made with material from the forests. The huts were considered very sturdy, constructed of thatch with thick wooden posts to support the walls and roof. It was typical for as many as fifteen extended families to all live together in a very large, windowless, one–room home. Inside, people slept in hammocks woven from cotton. The hammocks were slung between posts and then rolled up during the day. Other household items were placed on a wooden platform that hung from the rafters above, away from children and pets. Cooking was done over a fire with clay pots.
(Jacobs, 1992)
The Taino 