Hammock
Hamaca
- Date
- 1492 (primera descripción europea) · confidence medium
- Place
- Hispaniola, Dominican Republic
- Credited to
- Taíno and Arawakan peoples of the Antilles; also used in Amazonia
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A hanging bed of woven cotton netting that the Taíno used to sleep in, off the damp ground and away from insects, and easy to fold. The name 'hamaca' comes from Taíno, and European sailors soon adopted it aboard their ships.
The invention is not only Taíno: hammocks were used in Amazonia and Central America from undated earlier periods, and their origin has been debated. Recorded here is the first European description (Columbus in 1492) and the adoption of the Taíno word; the location is indicative.
What it led to
- adoption as the sailors' bed in European navies
- spread of the word hamaca (and English hammock) into European languages
- a light tropical bed across the Americas and later the world