Untold Origins - Previous ExhibitionUntold Origins, Caribbean heritage and identity
October 19 2004 to February 26 2005
 The Untold Origins exhibition was presented for Black History Month 2004. It explored the untold history of the indigenous people of the Caribbean and their contribution to the Caribbean culture of today. The exhibition featured the Schomburgk collection from Guyana, archaeology and contemporary objects including medicinal and food products from the Caribbean.
The Caribbean has always seen people on the move, from the settlement of people from the South American mainland thousands of years ago, to the forced settlement of enslaved people from Africa, to the island hopping and emigration abroad in search of work in the 20th century.
Within the Untold Origins exhibition the Cuming Museum explored what happens when people and cultures move and come into contact with each other. What do people preserve from their original culture to maintain their sense of identity? How does contact with a new culture change how they view themselves?
The histories and stories of the people who populated the Caribbean prior to the arrival of Europeans 500 years ago seemed hidden. Until recently the received history of the Caribbean taught in schools  repeated the inaccurate and simplistic story of Carib cannibals eating their way up the island chain, terrorising the more civilised Arawak communities. The indigenous people had been represented as being exterminated after European contact, with tiny populations of survivors on a few islands.
The indigenous cultures did experience a catastrophic collapse and the populations on some islands were nearly wiped out altogether. But at the same time as official colonial documents declared the native peoples as extinct they were finding ways to survive on the margins of society. The Cuming Museum wanted to explore their survival in more depth and to discover whether there are any echoes of indigenous culture surviving in Southwark's Caribbean culture today.
 Want to know more about Untold Origins?
If you missed the exhibition and want to find out more, you can download further information below.
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Or view the fully illustrated version by the individual chapters for more information
Guidance for teachers
The information above will also be useful for teachers who are bringing their class for the migration and diversity, Caribbean journeys key stage 2 citizenship education sessions for primary schools at the Cuming Museum.
Contact us
The Cuming Museum
Tel: 020 7525 2332
Fax: 020 7525 2345
cuming.museum@southwark.gov.uk
Old Walworth Town Hall
151 Walworth Road
London
SE17 1RY
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