{"product_id":"the-alligator-is-not-a-andrzss-e-seijas-9798247381402","title":"The Alligator is not a Caiman: Chronicle of an Identity Stripping","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe Alligator Is Not a Caiman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Europeans, led by Christopher Columbus, arrived on the American continent, they were astonished to encounter Indigenous peoples as well as plants and animals entirely unknown to them. In his letters, Columbus emphasized the abundance and singularity of the American environment. As Europeans attempted to name these unfamiliar species, they adopted various strategies: sometimes they used familiar Old World terms-such as \"\u003ci\u003eruiseñor\u003c\/i\u003e\" (nightingale)\" or \"tiger\"-for animals that evoked those they already knew; at other times, they incorporated Indigenous words such as \u003ci\u003emanatí\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003etiburón\u003c\/i\u003e, or \u003ci\u003ecaiman\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eInitially, the conquerors referred to American crocodilians as \u003ci\u003elagarto\u003c\/i\u003e, (lizard) a term derived from the Latin \u003ci\u003elacertus\u003c\/i\u003e. Later, the Taíno word \u003ci\u003ecaimán\u003c\/i\u003e, spoken by the original inhabitants of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), gradually entered use and began to replace \u003ci\u003elagarto\u003c\/i\u003e in historical accounts. Both terms, however, coexisted until the eighteenth century and still persist in everyday speech across many Latin American countries. The English word \u003ci\u003ealligator\u003c\/i\u003e also traces its origin to \u003ci\u003elagarto\u003c\/i\u003e. These names and their derivatives were applied not only to the crocodiles of the Caribbean, but also to those inhabiting the Pacific coast and the Orinoco River basin.\u003cbr\u003eIn this book, Dr. Andrés E. Seijas examines the origin and evolution of the terms \u003ci\u003ecaimán\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ealligator\u003c\/i\u003e, exploring their meanings and the shifts in their usage within both scientific and cultural spheres. He highlights, in particular, how the word \u003ci\u003ecaimán\u003c\/i\u003e ceased to be used in some countries to refer to the large crocodiles of the family \u003ci\u003eCrocodylidae\u003c\/i\u003e and came instead to denote, especially in scientific literature, the smaller species belonging to the family \u003ci\u003eAlligatoridae\u003c\/i\u003e. This shift has contributed to the erosion of the cultural values originally associated with the term. In response, the author proposes ways to recover and preserve those lost cultural meanings\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Andrés E. Seijas\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798247381402\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/09\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 152\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.33d","brand":"Andrés E. Seijas","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48450483323135,"sku":"9798247381402","price":18.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_54bff817-ec06-475b-b260-6e62c50ac4d1.jpg?v=1777267993","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-alligator-is-not-a-andrzss-e-seijas-9798247381402","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}