The Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site (often referred to as Caguana Site) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

located in Caguana, Utuado in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, considered to be one of the most important

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

sites in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. 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 The Taíno were a historic indigenous people 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 pri ...

around 1270 AD.

Overview

Approximately 13 ball courts and plazas (''bateyes'') have been identified and many have been restored to their original state.

Monoliths A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...

and

petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

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. 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 A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, its archaeostronomical features are well-documented and recognized by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative.

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 John Alden Mason (January 14, 1885 – November 7, 1967) was an American archaeological anthropologist and linguist. Mason was born in Orland, Indiana, but grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown. He received his undergraduate degree from the Unive ...

in 1914. The site has been under continuous study since the 1930s, at first by archaeologists from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

such as Irvin Rouse, and later by the

Institute of Puerto Rican Culture The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture ( es, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña), or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preser ...

and Dr.

Ricardo Alegría Ricardo E. Alegría Gallardo (April 14, 1921 – July 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archaeologist known as the "father of modern Puerto Rican archaeology". Early years Alegría was born in San Juan, Puerto R ...

. The interpretative park and a small museum were first opened to visitors in 1965.

Designations

The

manages the site as a park under the name Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center (). The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

has placed it on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, and designated it as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

(under the name Caguana Site). It was listed on the National Register in 1992 and designated a U.S.

in 1993. and The park also includes a small

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

containing Taíno artifacts, archaeological exhibits and a small

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

featuring some of the plants the Taínos harvested for food such as

sweet potatoes The sweet potato or sweetpotato ('' Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young sho ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, corn, and

yautía ''Xanthosoma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae. The genus is native to tropical America but widely cultivated and naturalized in other tropical regions. Several are grown for their starchy corms, an important food stap ...

. Many of the trees used by the Taínos to construct their homes (''bohíos''), such as mahogany and

ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...

can also be seen throughout the park. Also the site has been included in the UNESCO Astronomy World Heritage List.

Gallery

Scenes at Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site: CemiMountain.jpg, Stones and mountain behind Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site, Utuado, Puerto Rico.jpg, Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site Parque Ceremonial Indigena de Caguana, Puerto Porico — Geoff Gallice 002.jpg, Ball Court Parque Ceremonial Indigena 02.jpg, Bird drawn on stone Parque Ceremonial Indigena en Utuado.jpg, Faces drawn on stones BohioTaino.jpg, Traditional Bohio like the ones built by the Taino

References

External links

* *
Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Caguana, Utuado - Puerto Rican Cultural Institute

National Historic Landmark description by the National Park Service

Parque Ceremonial Indigena de Caguana Official PageSummary sheet
from the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office {{authority control Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico National Historic Landmarks in Puerto Rico Pre-Columbian cultures Native American museums in Puerto Rico Museums in Utuado, Puerto Rico Rock art in North America 13th-century establishments in Puerto Rico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico