Apparently the Dominicans weren´t the only ones to enjoy Playa Grande. Hispaniola´s ancient ancestors also availed of its ongoing natural beauty to settle there.
This can be clearly seen from the skeletal remains of possibly 2 Tainos* found buried not far from the the beach by a team of national and international archeologists during a major dig in the area.
(Translators note: Taino: pre-Colombian native inhabitants)
Apart from the skeleton which seems to be in a well preserved state, the remains of another possible Taino were found, although in worse condition.
The find includes agricultural mounds, places used by the natives to sow fruits (something relatively new) as well as thousands of archeological pieces, including vessels, ceramics and amulets, etc., which might not just belong to the islands natives but could also be Mayan and Spanish.
Investigations
The excavation is right in the middle of the beach between the towns of Río San Juan and Cabrera, on the country´s north coast. The investigations are being headed by Spanish archeologist Adolfo López, associate investigator of the Dominican Natural History Museum (sic Museo del Hombre Dominicano).
Archeologists Cristóbal Burkhatter, Alicia Galarraga, Sara Gálvez, Alejandro Selmi and Jorge Ulloa, geologist Enríquez Burkhatter, anthropologist Abelardo Jiménez Lambertus and director of the Dominican Institution for Anthropological Investigation of Santo Domingo Independent University (UASD), José Guerrero, make up the team of investigators, with the help of a ten-man team of assistants.
Graves
The skeletons found could be anything between 500 to 1000 years old, according to Adolfo López, director of the dig.
According to studies on Taino mythology, López highlighted that these natives used to bury their dead under bohíos (houses) or in cemeteries.
In this case, it´s a cemetery.
One set of remains, which may be those of a child, turned up in a place that could have been a bohío. The bones are practically pulverized but the teeth are still intact. The other remains, in better condition, were found near the agricultural mounds and experts say they don´t know why they were buried there.
According to the archeologists, one of the clues proving that the remains are of Taino origin is the fact that the better preserved skeleton was in a fetal position. The Venezuelan archeologist, Alicia Galarraga indicates that this was part of cultural rituals.
“The young adult, probably between 25 and 30 years old, is in a fetal position. They used to bind them so they´d maintain this position”, reported the anthropologist. “This may be because of how we are born and they wanted to preserve them like in the mother´s womb”, she added.
Galarraga pointed out that the remains will undergo Carbon 14 testing and will be kept in a laboratory outside the country to confirm age, sex, period and type of nutrition.
Cultural Shock
For the investigators one of the most interesting aspects of the excavation was to find ceramic artifacts from different tribes of Taino that inhabited the island, ie, Ostionoides, Mellacoides and Chicoides, dated between 100 and 800 AD.
According to archeologists Adolfo López and Jorge Ulloa, up to now ceramic artifacts from these three groups had never been found together at the same level of excavation which could mean that they may have been in this same place at the same time. The fragments of European ceramics, possibly Spanish, and Mayan amulets can be explained.
Marine archeologist, Alejando Selmi, revealed that there is a ship that sank in 1553 with 36 cannons off the coast of Playa Grande as well as a fleet of French wrecks from the XVIII Century.
The director of archeology from the marine salvage company Deep Blue Marine tells the story of how 15 ships perished off the coast of Playa Grande one night in 1798 and that his company has managed to locate 8 of them.
Selmi toys with the theory that if this Taino population existed around 1553 they would have had direct contact with the survivors of the shipwreck.
The pieces and artifacts found are to be handed over to the Dominican Natural History Museum´s department of investigations.
As soon as excavations are completed the area will be released but until then investors cannot continue with the project.
BACKGROUND AND FINANCING
Abelardo Jiménez Lambertus, assistant director of the Dominican Natural History Museum, said that back in the 1980´s the land where the excavations are now going on belonged to the Central Bank. He said that the Museum´s archeologists were aware that this area was a potential archeological site.
Jiménez Lambertus explained how on one occasion fragments of Taino ceramics could be found on the surface “leading us to believe that there could be significant and interesting work to be done as fragments from other Taino tribes were to be seen”.
However, he indicated that “they had to stop because of high costs and lack of funds needed for the excavation at the time”.
Now, investors** in the Playa Grande Project to be developed in the area have decided to conclude the investigations before commencing construction, “so that Dominican cultural heritage can be better documented”.
They are financing the dig and have assigned the archeologist, Adolfo López, as its director who, along with his team, has been on the job for about a month.
DMK Lawyers – Central Law has provided legal advice in obtaining all of the required permits, such as: tourism, municipal, environmental, as well as tax exemptions under law 158-01.
Source: Listin Diario