Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site

Last updated
Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site
Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site - Utuado Puerto Rico.jpg
Taíno ball courts at Caguana Site
USA Puerto Rico location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site
Location of the Caguana Site in Puerto Rico
Location Highway 111, Km 12.3
Utuado, Puerto Rico
Coordinates 18°17′42″N66°46′52″W / 18.294870°N 66.780974°W / 18.294870; -66.780974
Area7 acres (2.8 ha) [1]
BuiltAround 1270 AD
MPS Ball Court/Plaza Sites of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
NRHP reference No. 92001671 [2]
RNSZH No.2000-(RC)-22-JP-SH
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 17, 1992
Designated NHLNovember 4, 1993 [3]
Designated RNSZHMarch 15, 2001

The Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site (often referred to as Caguana Site) is an archaeological site located in Caguana, Utuado in Puerto Rico, considered to be one of the largest and most important Pre-Columbian sites in the West Indies. [4] The site is known for its well-preserved ceremonial ball courts and petroglyph-carved monoliths. Studies estimate the in-situ courts to be over 700 years old, built by the Taíno around 1270 AD. [5] [6]

Contents

Overview

Approximately 13 ball courts and plazas (bateyes) have been identified and many have been restored to their original state. Monoliths and petroglyphs carved by the Taínos can be seen among the rocks and stones, some weighing over a ton, that were most likely brought from the Tanama River located adjacent to the site. [7]

The site also contains the largest concentration of petroglyphs in the Antilles, [8] most of which around found carved into the stone monoliths that form the bateyes or ball courts. Some of the most famous pictographs include a heron-like bird and atabeyra, also known as the "Caguana woman", [8] attributed to the fertility zemi or goddess Atabey. [9]

The plan of the site and the positions of the ball courts indicate an alignment with specific astronomical events, and the site might have functioned as a place to observe and possibly predict astronomical events such as planetary and stellar transits, conjunctions and alignments. Numerous of the petroglyphs depict astronomical objects such as the moon, stars and planets. Although the site is not listed as a world heritage site, its archaeoastronomical features are well-documented and recognized by the UNESCO Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative. [7] [10]

History

The site of the modern archaeological site was originally known as Corrales de los Indios (Spanish for "Indian corrals") by locals after the corral-like outlines of some of the ball courts. The first exploration and survey-works in the site were led by American anthropologist John Alden Mason in 1914. The site has been under continuous study since the 1930s, at first by archaeologists from Yale University such as Irvin Rouse, and later by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP) and Dr. Ricardo Alegría. The ICP acquired the site in 1965 and invested in the restoration of its archaeological resources and on interpretative infrastructure for visitors. [11] The interpretative park and a small museum were first opened to visitors that same year. [12]

The museum remained closed from 2020 until june of 2024 when it reopened with a more thorough collection of more than 200 archaeological pieces. [13] [14] A digital version of the museum titled Museo Digital de Caguana was launched in 2024 by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. [4]

Designations

The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture still manages the site as a park under the name Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center (Parque Ceremonial Indígena de Caguana). The National Park Service has placed it on the National Register of Historic Places, and designated it as a National Historic Landmark (under the name Caguana Site). It was listed on the National Register in 1992 and designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1993. [3] [2] [1] It was also listed on the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones in 2001. [15]

The park also includes a small museum containing Taíno artifacts, archaeological exhibits and a small botanical garden featuring some of the plants the Taínos harvested for food such as sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, and yautía. Many of the trees used by the Taínos to construct their homes (bohíos), such as mahogany and ceiba can also be seen throughout the park. [7]

Scenes at Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isla de Mona</span> Island of Puerto Rico

Mona Island is the third-largest island of the Puerto Rican archipelago, after the main island of Puerto Rico and Vieques. It is the largest of three islands in the Mona Passage, a strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the others being Monito Island and Desecheo Island. It measures about 7 miles by 4 miles, and lies 41 mi (66 km) west of Puerto Rico, of which it is administratively a part. It is one of two islands that make up the Isla de Mona e Islote Monito barrio in the municipality of Mayagüez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Puerto Rico–related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utuado, Puerto Rico</span> Town and municipality in Puerto Rico

Utuado is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the Cordillera Central. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west of Ciales and Jayuya. It is the third-largest municipality in land area in Puerto Rico. According to the 2020 US Census, the municipality has a population of 28,287 spread over 24 barrios and Utuado pueblo.

Batéy was the name given to a special plaza around which the Caribbean Taino built their settlements. It was usually a rectangular area surrounded by stones with carved symbols (petroglyphs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricardo Alegría</span> Puerto Rican scholar, anthropologist, archeologist

Ricardo E. Alegría Gallardo was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archaeologist known as the "father of modern Puerto Rican archaeology".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center</span> Archeology museum in Ponce, Puerto Rico

The Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center in Sector La Vega de Taní, Barrio Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico, houses one of the most important archaeological discoveries made in the Antilles. The discovery provides an insight as to how the indigenous tribes of the Igneri and Taínos lived and played during and before the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World. Tibes is the oldest Antillean Indian ceremonial and sports complex yet uncovered in Puerto Rico. Within its boundaries is also the largest indigenous cemetery discovered to date – consisting of 186 human skeletons, most from the Igneri and the rest from the pre-Taíno cultures. Based on the orientation of the ceremonial plazas, this is also believed to be the oldest astronomical observatory in the Antilles. The museum was established in 1982 and restored in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Toro Wilderness</span> National Wilderness Preservation System in Puerto Rico

El Toro Wilderness is a 10,254-acre (41.5 km2) federally designated National Wilderness Preservation System unit located within El Yunque National Forest on the Sierra de Luquillo in eastern Puerto Rico. El Toro, named after the highest peak in the forest at 3,524 feet (1,074 m), is the only tropical wilderness in the United States National Forest System. It was created in 2005 by the Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caparra Archaeological Site</span> Archaeological site in Guaynabo municipality, Puerto Rico

Caparra is an archaeological site in the municipality of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. It was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1994. The site contains the remains of the first Spanish capital of the island, settled in 1508 and officially abandoned in 1521. It represents the oldest known European settlement on United States territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maricao State Forest</span> State forest in Puerto Rico

Maricao State Forest is a state forest located in the eastern Cordillera Central mountains of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as Monte del Estado due to the fact that it was one of the first forest reserves in Puerto Rico to be designated a state forest in its official name. With an area of 10,803 acres (43.72 km2), the Maricao State Forest is the largest of the 20 forestry units of the Puerto Rico state forest system.

Palo Hincado Site, also known as BA-1, is an archeological site in or near Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. The site includes a plaza, a 33 metres (108 ft) by 15 metres (49 ft) ball court, and petroglyphs. Reportedly a number of petroglyphs on stones around the plaza and ball court) have been removed by collectors.

Cueva de Los Indios, also known as the Cueva Punta Maldonado site, in the municipality of Loíza, Puerto Rico, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and on the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in central Puerto Rico</span> Places in central Puerto Rico listed on the US National Register of Historic Places

This portion of National Register of Historic Places listings in Puerto Rico is along the central mountain region, from Las Marías and Maricao in the central-west to Juncos in the central-east, including the slopes of the Cordillera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taíno</span> Indigenous people of the Caribbean

The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The Lucayan branch of the Taíno were the first New World peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus, in the Bahama Archipelago on October 12, 1492. The Taíno spoke a dialect of the Arawakan language group. They lived in agricultural societies ruled by caciques with fixed settlements and a matrilineal system of kinship and inheritance. Taíno religion centered on the worship of zemis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caguana, Utuado, Puerto Rico</span> Barrio of Puerto Rico

Caguana is a barrio in the municipality of Utuado, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 4,009.

Callejones Site is an archaeological site consisting of a batey located in Lares, Puerto Rico. It is of the Early Ostionoid (pre-Taino) and Late Ostionoid (Taíno) prehistoric eras and has been researched by Jose Oliver, a researcher from Yale University, and by Samuel Kirkland Lothrop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve</span> Two islands off western Puerto Rico

Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve consists of two islands, Mona and Monito, in the Mona Passage off western Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve encompasses both land and marine area, and with an area of 38,893 acres it is the largest protected natural area in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Much like the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Mona and Monito Islands reserve represents a living laboratory for archaeological, biological, geological, oceanographical and wildlife management research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ball court/plaza sites of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands</span> United States historic place

Ball court/plaza sites of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are the subject of a multiple property submission to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The submission consists of 56 archaeological sites containing bateyes, out of which five have been inscribed in the NRHP.

Bateyes de Viví(U-1) is a pre-Hispanic archaeological site located in the Viví Arriba barrio of the municipality of Utuado, Puerto Rico. The archaeological site consists of seven uncovered ball court and plaza sites or bateyes. The site, also known by the names of Dance Grounds Butterbaughs Estate or Vega del Hoyo Site, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 as part of the Ball court/plaza sites of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands multiple property submission which includes 53 other sites in Puerto Rico and 3 sites on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Icacos Petroglyph Group, also known as the Río Blanco Petroglyphs, is an ensemble of indigenous petroglyphs that can be found on four large boulders located at the confluence of the Icacos and Cubuy rivers, within the El Toro Wilderness section of El Yunque National Forest. The site and its environment are well-preserved due to their remote location and through their protection by the U.S. Forest Service. Although the address and exact coordinates are not publicly available, the site is located within the boundaries of the Río Blanco barrio of the municipality of Naguabo, Puerto Rico and can be accessed through guided tours. It has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 Mark R. Barnes (January 25, 1993). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site". National Park Service. and Accompanying four photos, from 1991
  2. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Caguana Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  4. 1 2 "Para la Naturaleza | Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Caguana con nueva aplicación móvil" (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  5. ↑ "Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site--Historic Places in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". www.nps.gov.
  6. ↑ "Parque Ceremonial Caguana - Puerto Rico - Explorador - Ferries del Caribe". www.ferriesdelcaribe.com. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  7. 1 2 3 "UNESCO Astronomy and World Heritage Webportal - Show entity". www3.astronomicalheritage.net. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  8. 1 2 "Puerto Rico: misterios de sitio arqueológico en vía de descifrarse". EFE Noticias (in European Spanish). 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  9. ↑ Rouse, Irving (1993). The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus (New ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0300056969.
  10. ↑ Oliver, José R. (1998). El centro ceremonial de Caguana, Puerto Rico: Simbolismo iconográfico, cosmovisión y el poderío caciquil Taíno de Boriquén. ISBN   9780860549154.
  11. ↑ ILAM, Fundacion. "Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Caguana". ilamdir.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  12. ↑ "Parque Ceremonial Indígena de Caguana. Puerto Rico". pueblosoriginarios.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  13. ↑ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (2024-06-04). "Inauguran valiosa muestra arqueológica que narra la historia prehispánica de Puerto Rico". SWI swissinfo.ch (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  14. ↑ "Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña anuncia la renovación del Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Caguana". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  15. ↑ GOBIERNO DE PUERTO RICO, JUNTA DE PLANIFICACIÓN DE PUERTO RICO (December 7, 2022). "REGISTRO DE PROPIEDADES DESIGNADAS POR LA JUNTA DE PLANIFICACIÓN DE PUERTO RICO" (PDF). jp.pr.gov.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.