The Beothuk people of Newfoundland were not the very first inhabitants of the
island. Thousands of years before their arrival there existed an ancient race, named the
Maritime Archaic Indians who lived on the shores of Newfoundland. (Red Ochre Indians,
Marshall, 4.)
Burial plots and polished stone tools are occasionally discovered near Beothuk
remains. Some people speculate that, because of the proximity of the artifacts to the
former lands of the Beothuk, the Maritime Archaic Indians and the Beothuk may have
been related. It is not certain when the Beothuk arrived on the island. In f…
