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The Archaic Period in Trinidad and Tobago covers the period from the earliest Ortoiroid settlements in Trinidad through the adoption of Neolithic technologies associated with the Saladoid culture. The earliest Ortoiroid sites in Trinidad are located at St. Johns and Banwari Trace in south Trinidad, just south of the Oropouche Lagoon.

Human settlement
Trinidad and Tobago lie on the continental shelf of South America, and were connected to the mainland during the last glacial maximum. The island of Trinidad remained connected to the mainland until about 6000-7000 year ago, when the formation of the Columbus Channel and the Serpent's Mouth connected the Gulf of Paria with the Atlantic Ocean.

Evidence of human activity predates the separation of Trinidad from the South American mainland. A spearhead discovered in Biche, in central Trinidad, was attributed to the Joboid series, a Lithic age culture known from adjacent areas of the mainland, and was estimated to date to about 8000 BCE.

Evidence of settlements of more recent, and date to around the time that Trinidad separated from the mainland. The oldest settlements are in south Trinidad, along the southern edge of the Oropouche Lagoon, a wetland on the west coast of Trinidad, south of the city of San Fernando. The shell midden at Banwari Trace forms a small hill above the surrounding landscape, and is the oldest known archaeological site in the Caribbean. Like Banwari Trace, the shell midden at St. John was located on the southern edge fo the wetland, on the banks of the Godineau River, but it closer to the coast. Both sites were occupied at around the same time, over a period of several thousand years.