MAJOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND IN PUERTO RICO
- From: michaelruggeri@xxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:11:53 -0700
Archaeologists in Puerto Rico surprised by discovery of Indian
artifacts
Updated: 9:08 p.m. CT Oct 27, 2007
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - U.S. and Puerto Rican archaeologists say they
have uncovered what they believe to be one of the most important pre-
Columbian sites found in the Caribbean, containing stones etched with
ancient petroglyphs and graves that reveal unusual burial methods.
The stones at the site in southern Puerto Rico form a large plaza
measuring some 130 feet by 160 feet (40 meters by 50 meters) that
could have been used for ball games or ceremonial rites, said Aida
Belen Rivera, director of the Puerto Rican Historic Conservation
office.
The petroglyphs include the carving of a human figure with masculine
features and frog legs. Archaeologists believe the site might belong
to the Taino and pre-Taino cultures that inhabited the island before
European colonization.
The plaza could contain other artifacts dating from 600 A.D. to 1500
A.D., said Rivera, whose office is receiving general reports about the
findings.
"I have visited many sites and have never seen a plaza of that
magnitude and of those dimensions and with such elaborate
petroglyphs," said Miguel Rodriguez, member of the government's
archaeological council and director of a graduate school in Puerto
Rico that specializes in history and humanities. He is not involved in
the project.
Archaeologists also uncovered several graves where bodies were
interred face-down with the legs bent backward at the knees _ a type
of burial believed to be new to the region.
The site was discovered while land was being cleared for construction
of a dam to control flooding in the area. Experts have called for a
halt to the excavation, saying the team's use of heavy machinery has
exposed the stones and possibly destroyed important evidence.
Jose Oliver, a Latin American Archaeology lecturer at University
College London, called the discovery one that archaeologists come
across every 50 or 100 years _ if they are lucky.
"I'm convinced that a competent investigation of that site will offer
us a rare perspective of our Pre-Columbian and Pre-Colonial history,"
Oliver, who has overseen several high-profile digs in the U.S.
Caribbean territory, said by e-mail.
But he warned that the company in charge of the site is not equipped
to handle such a massive and complex job.
The lead investigator for Georgia-based New South Associates, the
archaeological and historical consulting firm leading the excavation,
said a backhoe that scrapes inches (centimeters) at a time did break
some bones, but that the same would have occurred through manual
excavation.
The company switched to slower and more detailed excavation methods
about two weeks ago, after the site's significance became clear and
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would preserve the
site, investigator Chris Espenshade said.
Experts have suspected since 1985 that the area might yield indigenous
artifacts because of its proximity to other archaeological sites.
The Tainos were a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians, native to the
Caribbean islands. They migrated to the Caribbean from Mexico's
Yucatan centuries before European colonizers arrived.
Four years after Columbus landed in Hispaniola in 1495, one-third of
the 300,000 original Indian population was killed or exported. Half a
century later, the Tainos there became extinct.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Mike Ruggeri's The Ancient Americas Breaking News
http://web.mac.com/michaelruggeri
Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America and Mesoamerica News and Links
http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MIKERUGGERISANCIENT/index.html
.
- Prev by Date: Re: Honolulu building site a virtual graveyard
- Next by Date: Re: Suggestion
- Previous by thread: explorator 10.27
- Next by thread: Critic confronts museum over Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
|
