We are so thankful for the wonderful collaborations in Trinidad, old and new, the endorsement of the Santa Rosa First People Community and Warao Nation, and look forward to the exchange in the projects to come.
It was worth it: visiting the sites we study is always very special. Standing where people stood in the past serves as a great reminder that we study humans, not bones.
Where better to sit and discuss the interpretations?
It led to some great ideas and a ton of inspirations for further analyses.
We visited the red house, seat of parliament and archeological site, where some of the individuals we studied were excavated from.
The week started with Radio and TV Interviews, and sandwiched in between were many many many site visits, for which Kathrin had to fight through the dense bush of cacti and thorny bushes (and paid "Aruba tax").
An intense week for Kathrin in Aruba!
It culminnated in the National "hymn and flag" day, that Kathrin used to engage with the public about our work in Aruba. Our Papiamento (the creole language of Aruba) colouring book (drive.google.com/drive/folder...) was the star of the kids' corner.
We express our deepest gratitude to the National Arcaological Museum Aruba for the amazing partnership, especially to Harold Kelly, who's endless hospitality Wenn beyond the tiring hikes to the sites, showing Kathrin also the natural beauty and endemic species Aruba has to offer.
Masha Danki!
Of course, we also got to enjoy some of Trinidads natural beauty, the beaches, the birds (although Eleni needs some more convincing to become a proper birder) and the amazing food and beautiful architecture.
We discussed our findings with the chief of the Santa Rosa Forst People Community and gave a lecture on ancient DNA and our findings at the University of the West Indies. We were allowed to visit the "Banwari person," the oldest individual excavated in Trinidad, at the Zoological museum.
Last week, Eleni and Kathrin got to go on a very special trip filled with great encounters and experiences.
We were welcomed by our collaborators at the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago and brought our results, summarized in the English Trinidad version of our coloring book.
