The Taíno Cultural Center Casa del Cordón, an initiative of Banco Popular Dominicano, held the discussion “Six thousand years on the island: in search of ancestral traces in Cabo Samaná”, in which the main findings of the Cabo Samaná archaeological project were addressed, which has revealed that the human presence on the island of Española dates back thousands of years earlier than previously estimated.
The discussion included the participation of archaeologist Adolfo López Belando, principal investigator of the Cabo Samaná project and specialist in pre-Hispanic cultures, as well as economist, writer and academic Dennis R. Simó, vice president of the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic.
The moderation was carried out by the architect and academic José Enrique Delmonte, advisor of the Taíno Cultural Center Casa del Cordón.
Reflection on human origins in the Caribbean
The dialogue revealed how the Cabo Samaná project has confirmed a human presence dating back more than six thousand years, providing key information about the origins and migrations that shaped the settlement of the Antillean arc.
These investigations, developed in different stages, offer new evidence on the origins, migration routes and cultural diversity of the human groups that occupied the Caribbean region.
The meeting brought together archaeology professionals, representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, as well as those interested in the country's history and cultural heritage.
Home of the Samanenses
The Cabo Samaná archaeological project is considered the home of the Samanenses, inhabitants of the archaic/lithic period, whose remains in caves and rock shelters have allowed the human presence in the area to be dated to four millennia before Christ.
Among the discoveries is a cemetery with the remains of about twenty people, some at least 5,500 years old. Also found was the so-called Daniel Burial Cave, containing a burial dating back more than 4,000 years, and the foundation of a dwelling from the mid-fourth millennium BCE.
Researchers have confirmed a lithic industry at the site made of marble and limestone, and remains of animals that served as food for the Aboriginal people.
A space open to archaeological knowledge
The Taíno Cultural Center Casa del Cordón is consolidating itself as a space open to the public for the appreciation of the results of national archaeological research.
The exhibition “Our First Settlers”, composed of 350 pre-Hispanic objects provided by the García Arévalo Foundation, offers a glimpse into the oldest human remains in the Caribbean and the ancestral heritage that contributes to Dominican identity.
