section_path: History/Pre-colonial
section_name: Pre-colonial
paragraph_text: Pre-colonial
  
  Sint Maarten had been inhabited by the Amerindian peoples for many centuries, with archaeological finds pointing to a human presence on the island as early as 2000 BC. These people most likely migrated from South America. The earliest identified group were the Arawak people who are thought to have settled around the period 800 BC – 300 BC. Circa 1300–1400 AD they began to be displaced with the arrival of the Kalinago people.