Journal of Caribbean Archaeology Copyright 2002 ISSN 1524-4776 TAÍNO USE OF FLOODED CAVERNS IN THE EAST NATIONAL PARK REGION, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Charles D. Beeker Office of Underwater Science Department of Recreation and Park Administration HPER 133 Indiana University 1025 East 7th Street Bloomington, IN 47405-7109
[email protected] Geoffrey W. Conrad William Hammond Mathers Museum Indiana University 601 East 8th Street Bloomington, IN 47408-3812
[email protected] John W. Foster California State Parks PO Box 942896 Sacramento, CA 94296-0001
[email protected] The southeastern region of the Dominican Republic is characterized by karst topography with numerous caves and sinkholes. In 1492 this sector of the island of Hispaniola was occupied by the Taíno chiefdom of Higüey. The local Taíno population used subterranean chambers for a variety of purposes. Two such sites, the Padre Nuestro complex and the Manantial de la Aleta, provide insights into Taíno use of water-filled caverns. The Cueva de Chicho and other caves in the Padre Nuestro complex served as sources of water. In contrast, the Manantial de la Aleta sinkhole seems to have been a regional ritual center connected with ancestor worship. _____________________________________ Caves were important places in Taíno derived from ethnohistorical sources and dry culture, and cave sites have been reported from cave sites containing rock art or burials. various parts of the island of Hispaniola (e.g., Krieger 1929, 1931; López Belando 1997, Our goal here is to help increase 2002; Lovén 1935; Pagán Perdomo and Jiménez understanding of the multiple roles of caves in Lambertus 1983; Veloz Maggiolo et al.