Abstract

The use of caves as ritual and sacred landscapes has been well-explored in New World archaeology, especially in regards to Mesoamerican civilizations. Recent evidence has shed light on the importance of caves in the Caribbean, specifically the Classic Taino Chiefdoms of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. This poster will show that Taino cave use reflects a highly developed and relatively wide-spread religion with direct implications for Taino social structure. Taino cave art demonstrates the alternative use of caves as a ritual area and the possible location of the axis mundi – the connecting element to the various realms of the cosmos. The importance of Taino religion has been documented with ethnohistoric sources, but as the indigenous population was completely erased with the arrival of Columbus, material remains are all we have to create a picture of the importance of religion to a developing Chiefdom-type society.