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7 Rock Art Studies in the Dominican Republic José Gabriel Atiles Bidó Translation by Michele H. Hayward Cultural and Physical Contexts Lithic and Archaic age people reached Hispaniola around 4000 and 2400 b.c., respectively, followed by Early Ceramic people around 100 to 200 b.c. or even several centuries earlier (Atiles Bidó and López Belando 2006; Rouse 1992). These new and resident pre-Columbian cultures on the island found themselves in a highly diversified geomorphological environment. Three mountain ranges, five peaks, three karst regions, four low-lying coasts, and more than 15 intermountain valleys provided a terrain rich with caves and other rock formations. On the Dominican side of the island natives took advantage of rock surfaces , primarily in caves, to execute a variety of anthropomorphic, zoomorphic , and abstract designs. Petroglyphs and pictographs have been registered for 453 locations detailed in Table 7.1 by province. This listing, although it represents sites personally known to me or referenced in scientific literature, is incomplete. I estimate that only some 30 percent of caves on the island have been explored with regard to the presence of rock art,a condition that likely accounts for the absence or minimal numbers of locations for several provinces in the inventory. Many more sites are expected to exist. The density of images for petroglyph sites in the present sample varies from 1 to 400, while the figure for pictograph locations ranges from 1 to 2,500. A History of Dominican Rock Art Investigations Contact-Period Chroniclers Researchers of Dominican rock art have in particular relied upon the ethnohistorical works of Father Ramón Pané (1974) and Pedro Mártir de Anglería (1979) to assist in the interpretation of the images.Although the works con- Rock Art Studies in the Dominican Republic / 91 tain little information directly related to the production and meaning of the figures,both authors make clear the ritual-religious and social importance of caves to native populations at contact. The Pané document indicates that certain caves possessed names, specific locations, and special characteristics: “Hispaniola has a province named Caonao, in which there is a mountain, called Cauta, and in it are two caves Table 7.1. Number and Percentage of Caves with Petroglyphs and Pictographs by Province Province Number of Caves Percentage of Caves Azua 23 5.08 Bahoruco 11 2.43 Barahona 2 0.44 Dajabón 4 0.88 Distrito Nacional 39 8.61 Duarte 4 0.88 Elías Piña 3 0.66 El Seibo 5 1.10 Espaillat 0 0.00 Hato Mayor 1 0.22 Independencia 4 0.88 La Altagracia 66 14.57 La Romana 15 3.31 La Vega 16 3.53 María T. Sánchez 26 5.74 Monseñor Nouel 1 0.22 Monte Cristo 0 0.00 Monte Plata 0 0.00 Pedernales 26 5.74 Peravia 0 0.00 Puerto Plata 4 0.88 Salcedo 0 0.00 Samana 45 9.93 Sánchez Ramírez 72 15.89 San Cristóbal 57 (30) 12.58 San Juan 3 0.66 San Pedro de Macorís 17 3.75 Santiago 2 0.44 Santiago Rodríguez 2 0.44 Valverde 5 1.10 Total 453 99.96 Note: For the San Cristóbal Province 57 is the number of likely or reported caves, of which 30 have been confirmed. 92 / Atiles Bidó named Cacibajagua and Amayaúna.From Cacibajagua came forth the greater part of the people that populated the island” (Pané 1974:22, translation by Michele H. Hayward; see also Griswold in Pané 1999:5–6). Later on, Pané relates the following: And they also say that the Sun and the Moon emerged from a cave, which is located in the territory of one cacique called Mautiatihuel, this same cave is named Iguanaboína, which they highly venerate, and have painted after their fashion, without any figure whatsoever, but with many plants and other similar things. And in this cave were two cemís, made from stone, small, the size of half an arm, with hands tied, and with a sweating appearance. These cemís they highly esteemed; and when it did not rain, they say they entered there to petition them and suddenly it would begin to rain. And one of these cemís they called Boínayel and the other Márohu [Pané 1974:31, translation by Michele H. Hayward;adapted from Griswold in Pané 1999:17]. Pedro Mártir’s reference to caves...

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