it is that the americas were settled by three migratory waves from northern asia. the native brazilians are thought to descend from the first wave of migrants, who arrived in the region around 9000 bc. the main native brazilian groups are the tupi-guarani, the jê, the arawaks and the caraibas (kalina or caribs). the tupi-guarani nation, originally from the paraná river basin and also one of the largest of the native-paraguayan nations, had spread all along the brazilian coastline from south to north and came to be known by the portuguese as "os índios da língua geral" ("the indians of the general language"); the jê nation occupied most of the interior of the country from maranhão to santa catarina. the arawaks and the caribs, the last ones to get in contact with the portuguese, lived in the north and northwest of brazil.