A book on the Tainos, the first recorded inhabitants of Jamaica, is to be launched today.

The book, The Earliest Inhabit-ants: The Dynamics of the Jamaica Taino, is published by the University of the West Indies Press (2006). It seeks to promote Jamaican Tainan archaeology and highlight the diverse research conducted on the island's prehistoric sites and artefacts.

The volume is edited by Lesley-Gail Atkinson of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Atkinson is the immediate past president of the Archaeological Society of Jamaica. A Fulbright Scholar, Atkinson is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology, University of Florida.

Reprints

The volume has 14 chapters of which seven are reprints of seminal articles not widely available, and the remaining chapters are based on recent archaeological research.

The book will be launched today at 6:30 p.m. in the Old Library, at the University of the West Indies, Mona.