TAINO ZEMI FIGURE ART

The Taíno people of the Caribbean (1492 era) carved zemí icons from stone, wood, or ceramic, representing clan ancestors or nature spirits (often frog-like or three-pointed figures) that were worshipped for fertility and protection. These artifacts, an inclusive Antillean heritage art, are among the few surviving testaments of the Taíno worldview and artistic skill, revered today as symbols of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban Indigenous ancestry.