Archaeological site offers peek into Puerto Rico's past
Jeannette Rivera-lyles
Sentinel Staff Writer
March 14, 2008
PONCE, Puerto Rico
Click here to find out more!
For centuries, the undulating banks of the Portugu�s River trembled beneath the feet of Taino dancers as they celebrated their most sacred rites.
But as their civilization died out, so did the story of the mystical place by the river Tainos called J�cana -- until last fall, when the Army Corps of Engineers stumbled upon it while surveying the land for the construction of a dam. It soon became clear that this was the most important archaeological treasure ever to be found in Puerto Rico.
The discovery has excited scientists and Puerto Ricans, who take pride in their native roots. But it has also led to controversy over who will finish the excavation and the future use of the site.
It has also ignited tensions between the Corps of Engineers and island archaeologists, who say parts of the historically sensitive site may have been destroyed.
It was late October when corps engineers noticed they were digging up more than just dirt. Buried 6 feet under, perfectly preserved by mud and vegetation, were the remnants of the largest Taino ceremonial field, or batey, ever discovered. There also was a stone road, foundations of buildings, a trash depository and about 400 grave sites.
This is likely just a sample of what lies beneath -- barely 15 percent of the site has been excavated.
"This site is a great exercise in engineering ingenuity," said Aida Bel�n Rivera, an archaeologist and director of Puerto Rico's State Historic Preservation Office.
The Tainos were the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Caribbean and one of three ethnic groups from which Puerto Ricans descended. With the exception of a few writings by 16th-century priest Bartolom� de las Casas, one of the first missionaries in the New World, almost nothing about their daily life was recorded. Early historians thought the Tainos were virtually wiped out 40 years after the Europeans arrived, exposed to new illnesses, enslaved and killed off.
Some academics and groups who claim Taino heritage have long argued against the extinction claims. Because of the site's size and diversity of archaeological elements, it opens an extraordinary window into Taino life that could settle the dispute and provide details about this forgotten people.
'Work of a great Taino artist'
Karen Gonz�lez brushed the tall grass aside and lowered herself inside a recently dug ditch to look at what she calls "la nena" (the girl), a petroglyph depicting a woman with an intricate headdress.
"The first time I saw her, I got goose bumps," said Gonz�lez, deputy director of the State Historic Preservation Office of Puerto Rico. "Look at the richness of the details. . . . I think we're before the work of a great Taino artist."
The raised-stone carving is more sophisticated than any known Taino artwork. It is a piece of a partially excavated stone hedge on the north end of the batey, facing the river. It was here that the Tainos held their most important religious ceremonies and social events.
Although several of these ceremonial fields have been discovered on the island, this one is by far the largest.
"This was the coliseum of the bateyes," Gonz�lez said. "We believe it had to be more like a regional center that served several communities, not just the village that was found here."
It is estimated that J�cana was in constant use from the year 700 to the early 1500s. This lengthy period of use, Rivera said, is likely to shed light on the origin of the Taino people. A popular theory is that they were the product of migrations from Central and South America. Some academics, however, think they originated in Puerto Rico.
"We might now have an opportunity to show that scientifically," Rivera said.
Concerns about excavation
The importance of the finding has stirred a variety of emotions. Tensions are still running high after the Army Corps of Engineers excavated the site using heavy machinery.
"We might have lost important information forever because of the haste with which they handled it," said Laura del Olmo, director of the archaeology division of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, the government agency charged with protecting the island's cultural heritage. "Their work lacked scientific methodology."
Del Olmo complained that her agency was not initially contacted, a violation of Puerto Rican law that requires the involvement of a state archaeology board in the handling of historic sites.
Local Taino organizations also have raised concerns about the corps' excavation methods, particularly about the exhumation of tombs.
"Because things have been carelessly disturbed, we might have lost clues that are important," said Martin Veguilla, head of the Taino Council Guatu-Ma-cu, whose members claim Taino lineage. "The Taino were deliberate in how they did things, in the way they buried people. Everything bore a meaning: the position of the body, its orientation, the things they buried with them. We have lost all of that."
The corps said its methods were sound.
"The use of heavy equipment in archaeology projects is common," said David McCullough, an archaeologist with the agency's Jacksonville office. "Everything we did was in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and followed a scientific protocol."
Gonz�lez sided with the corps. She said pictures and videos of the human remains were taken for later study before they were removed.
The site will now be transferred to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, which will sort out with other local agencies just who will finish the excavations as well as determine J�cana's future use. This has already caused some disagreements.
"We have different ideas," Rivera said of the various agencies that have gotten involved. "We [State Historic Protection Office] believe in using this place for long-term investigations."
'Uncharted territory'
But other agencies, such as the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, would like to have a park at the site.
"This is uncharted territory," said Javier V�lez Arocho, Puerto Rico's natural-resources secretary. "We have to all come together now and make decisions as a group, as a country."
Archaeological site offers peek into Puerto Rico's past
Jeannette Rivera-lyles
Sentinel Staff Writer
March 14, 2008
PONCE, Puerto Rico
Click here to find out more!
For centuries, the undulating banks of the Portugu�s River trembled beneath the feet of Taino dancers as they celebrated their most sacred rites.
But as their civilization died out, so did the story of the mystical place by the river Tainos called J�cana -- until last fall, when the Army Corps of Engineers stumbled upon it while surveying the land for the construction of a dam. It soon became clear that this was the most important archaeological treasure ever to be found in Puerto Rico.
The discovery has excited scientists and Puerto Ricans, who take pride in their native roots. But it has also led to controversy over who will finish the excavation and the future use of the site.
It has also ignited tensions between the Corps of Engineers and island archaeologists, who say parts of the historically sensitive site may have been destroyed.
It was late October when corps engineers noticed they were digging up more than just dirt. Buried 6 feet under, perfectly preserved by mud and vegetation, were the remnants of the largest Taino ceremonial field, or batey, ever discovered. There also was a stone road, foundations of buildings, a trash depository and about 400 grave sites.
This is likely just a sample of what lies beneath -- barely 15 percent of the site has been excavated.
"This site is a great exercise in engineering ingenuity," said Aida Bel�n Rivera, an archaeologist and director of Puerto Rico's State Historic Preservation Office.
The Tainos were the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Caribbean and one of three ethnic groups from which Puerto Ricans descended. With the exception of a few writings by 16th-century priest Bartolom� de las Casas, one of the first missionaries in the New World, almost nothing about their daily life was recorded. Early historians thought the Tainos were virtually wiped out 40 years after the Europeans arrived, exposed to new illnesses, enslaved and killed off.
Some academics and groups who claim Taino heritage have long argued against the extinction claims. Because of the site's size and diversity of archaeological elements, it opens an extraordinary window into Taino life that could settle the dispute and provide details about this forgotten people.
'Work of a great Taino artist'
Karen Gonz�lez brushed the tall grass aside and lowered herself inside a recently dug ditch to look at what she calls "la nena" (the girl), a petroglyph depicting a woman with an intricate headdress.
"The first time I saw her, I got goose bumps," said Gonz�lez, deputy director of the State Historic Preservation Office of Puerto Rico. "Look at the richness of the details. . . . I think we're before the work of a great Taino artist."
The raised-stone carving is more sophisticated than any known Taino artwork. It is a piece of a partially excavated stone hedge on the north end of the batey, facing the river. It was here that the Tainos held their most important religious ceremonies and social events.
Although several of these ceremonial fields have been discovered on the island, this one is by far the largest.
"This was the coliseum of the bateyes," Gonz�lez said. "We believe it had to be more like a regional center that served several communities, not just the village that was found here."
It is estimated that J�cana was in constant use from the year 700 to the early 1500s. This lengthy period of use, Rivera said, is likely to shed light on the origin of the Taino people. A popular theory is that they were the product of migrations from Central and South America. Some academics, however, think they originated in Puerto Rico.
"We might now have an opportunity to show that scientifically," Rivera said.
Concerns about excavation
The importance of the finding has stirred a variety of emotions. Tensions are still running high after the Army Corps of Engineers excavated the site using heavy machinery.
"We might have lost important information forever because of the haste with which they handled it," said Laura del Olmo, director of the archaeology division of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, the government agency charged with protecting the island's cultural heritage. "Their work lacked scientific methodology."
Del Olmo complained that her agency was not initially contacted, a violation of Puerto Rican law that requires the involvement of a state archaeology board in the handling of historic sites.
Local Taino organizations also have raised concerns about the corps' excavation methods, particularly about the exhumation of tombs.
"Because things have been carelessly disturbed, we might have lost clues that are important," said Martin Veguilla, head of the Taino Council Guatu-Ma-cu, whose members claim Taino lineage. "The Taino were deliberate in how they did things, in the way they buried people. Everything bore a meaning: the position of the body, its orientation, the things they buried with them. We have lost all of that."
The corps said its methods were sound.
"The use of heavy equipment in archaeology projects is common," said David McCullough, an archaeologist with the agency's Jacksonville office. "Everything we did was in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and followed a scientific protocol."
Gonz�lez sided with the corps. She said pictures and videos of the human remains were taken for later study before they were removed.
The site will now be transferred to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, which will sort out with other local agencies just who will finish the excavations as well as determine J�cana's future use. This has already caused some disagreements.
"We have different ideas," Rivera said of the various agencies that have gotten involved. "We [State Historic Protection Office] believe in using this place for long-term investigations."
'Uncharted territory'
But other agencies, such as the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, would like to have a park at the site.
"This is uncharted territory," said Javier V�lez Arocho, Puerto Rico's natural-resources secretary. "We have to all come together now and make decisions as a group, as a country."
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