The mysterious people of the Caribbean
You wouldn't think of the overtrodden Dominican Republic as a cutting-edge archaeology destination. Yet hidden beneath the beach cabanas are likely clues to a pre-Columbian mystery that's been perplexing anthropologists for centuries: who actually discovered the Caribbean?
When Columbus arrived on Hispaniola in the 15th Century, he encountered the Taíno, an Arawakan-speaking people who came from the Orinoco Delta of present-day Venezuela, emigrating as early as 400 BCE. While it is often assumed that the Taíno were the "original" inhabitants of the Caribbean, particularly the Greater Antilles, other peoples had already been living there for several thousand years.
These little-known first inhabitants of Hispaniola are known as the "Archaic" peoples, characterised by their usage of stone tools (and the "Ceramic Age" Taíno by their creation of ceramics). The term generalises a diverse group of prehistoric peoples whose languages and names for themselves are unknown.Read More : Ras Al Khaimah offers free hotel stays to stranded Ukrainian holidaymakers However, a recent discovery by a team of Italian and Dominican archaeologists on the Dominican Republic's secluded Samaná Peninsula, could change our understanding of who they were and where they came from.
"El Pozito" (Spanish for "little well") is a rare settlement belonging to these little-known first inhabitants of Hispaniola. It's also the Dominican Republic's biggest Archaic discovery in half a century. To the untrained eye, the site – a grassy mound surrounded by lush vegetation 2km inland from capes Cabrón and Samaná – might not seem like anything more than an idyllic spot for a picnic. But after surveying the area and finding a natural spring nearby, seasoned archaeologist Alfredo Coppa knew to dig deeper.
For 2.5 weeks in September 2021, Coppa's team from Sapienza University of Rome, with investigators from Santo Domingo's Museo del Hombre Dominicano, combed a 12mx12m area of virgin turf untouched by agriculture. Digging just 20cm below the surface, gently prodding the moist, coffee-coloured earth for signs of past civilisations, they found a trove of polished stone hammers, pestles and axes, conches and other tools used by the Archaic people.
The most significant finds are the mariposoid or butterfly axes, which were likely used for felling trees to make canoes and oars; and a small ceremonial well (35cm in diameter) with 12 stone pestles buried inside, barely used save some plant residue, leading the team to believe these settlers were also ritualistic – a ground-breaking revelation considering how little is known about their way of life. Few Archaic settlements have been uncovered around the Caribbean to date and this is among the most promising.
While carbon dating has yet to be done on El Pozito, Coppa believes it to be around 2,000 years old (Late Archaic Age), based on the objects he's found so far, but he's hoping the settlement is much older than that. Particularly because what he's really looking to find is a necropolis – with burials spanning centuries – in order to glean genetic insights. And there's a good chance he will, because no site where humans lived has not been associated with a necropolis.
"I spent 30 years looking for an Archaic site like this," said Coppa, who has overseen excavations in other places like Oman, Eritrea, Pakistan and Libya – and, of course, across the Dominican Republic.
The first and last major Archaic discovery here happened in the 1970s in the southern part of the island. Over the years, Coppa found butterfly axes scattered around the north, but no site, which led him to believe the Archaic peoples lived down south, likely coming from Cuba, the biggest island in the Greater Antilles.
Until he found El Pozito.
El Pozito is tucked away at the end of the Samaná Peninsula, a 30-mile verdant strip of land in the country's north-east that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. An eco-tourism paradise, the land is rainforested and dramatic, formed by the Sierra de Samaná, an extension of the Cordillera Septentrional – the biggest mountain range in the Caribbean – that runs along the northern coast, providing natural shelters along several remote beaches. Coppa theorises that these Archaic people may have reached Samaná from Puerto Rico, the closest nearby island about 200 nautical miles to the east, though he says more research is needed.
When Columbus arrived on Hispaniola in the 15th Century, he encountered the Taíno, an Arawakan-speaking people who came from the Orinoco Delta of present-day Venezuela, emigrating as early as 400 BCE. While it is often assumed that the Taíno were the "original" inhabitants of the Caribbean, particularly the Greater Antilles, other peoples had already been living there for several thousand years.
These little-known first inhabitants of Hispaniola are known as the "Archaic" peoples, characterised by their usage of stone tools (and the "Ceramic Age" Taíno by their creation of ceramics). The term generalises a diverse group of prehistoric peoples whose languages and names for themselves are unknown.
"El Pozito" (Spanish for "little well") is a rare settlement belonging to these little-known first inhabitants of Hispaniola. It's also the Dominican Republic's biggest Archaic discovery in half a century. To the untrained eye, the site – a grassy mound surrounded by lush vegetation 2km inland from capes Cabrón and Samaná – might not seem like anything more than an idyllic spot for a picnic. But after surveying the area and finding a natural spring nearby, seasoned archaeologist Alfredo Coppa knew to dig deeper.
For 2.5 weeks in September 2021, Coppa's team from Sapienza University of Rome, with investigators from Santo Domingo's Museo del Hombre Dominicano, combed a 12mx12m area of virgin turf untouched by agriculture. Digging just 20cm below the surface, gently prodding the moist, coffee-coloured earth for signs of past civilisations, they found a trove of polished stone hammers, pestles and axes, conches and other tools used by the Archaic people.
The most significant finds are the mariposoid or butterfly axes, which were likely used for felling trees to make canoes and oars; and a small ceremonial well (35cm in diameter) with 12 stone pestles buried inside, barely used save some plant residue, leading the team to believe these settlers were also ritualistic – a ground-breaking revelation considering how little is known about their way of life. Few Archaic settlements have been uncovered around the Caribbean to date and this is among the most promising.
While carbon dating has yet to be done on El Pozito, Coppa believes it to be around 2,000 years old (Late Archaic Age), based on the objects he's found so far, but he's hoping the settlement is much older than that. Particularly because what he's really looking to find is a necropolis – with burials spanning centuries – in order to glean genetic insights. And there's a good chance he will, because no site where humans lived has not been associated with a necropolis.
"I spent 30 years looking for an Archaic site like this," said Coppa, who has overseen excavations in other places like Oman, Eritrea, Pakistan and Libya – and, of course, across the Dominican Republic.
The first and last major Archaic discovery here happened in the 1970s in the southern part of the island. Over the years, Coppa found butterfly axes scattered around the north, but no site, which led him to believe the Archaic peoples lived down south, likely coming from Cuba, the biggest island in the Greater Antilles.
Until he found El Pozito.
El Pozito is tucked away at the end of the Samaná Peninsula, a 30-mile verdant strip of land in the country's north-east that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. An eco-tourism paradise, the land is rainforested and dramatic, formed by the Sierra de Samaná, an extension of the Cordillera Septentrional – the biggest mountain range in the Caribbean – that runs along the northern coast, providing natural shelters along several remote beaches. Coppa theorises that these Archaic people may have reached Samaná from Puerto Rico, the closest nearby island about 200 nautical miles to the east, though he says more research is needed.
Source: www.bbc.com
