Dore Tate Oct. 10, 1992 6:38 AM ET
KINGSTON, JAMAICA KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ A small wooden bird, a scoop and a statue of a man have focused archaelogical attention on a tiny cave in the hills of northern Jamaica.
The three carvings, presented to the public Friday by the Jamaica Heritage Trust, are thought to represent ''cemis'' or images of deities and other symbols sacred to the Taino, the people who met Christopher Columbus in St. Ann's Bay in 1494.
The artifacts represent the second largest group of Taino artifacts found in Jamaica - the last comparable find was 200 years ago.
The carvings were discovered by a Jamaican, Leonard Clayton, in an almost inaccessible cave in the north coast parish of St. Ann, said Dorrick Gray, the trust's acting director of archaeology. The cave will be the focus of studies sponsored by the trust.
According to Gray, two of the world's experts on Taino culture, Irving Rouse and Jose Arrom of Yale University, have authenticated the finds.
The carved figure of the man, about 5-feet tall, represents the tallest found so far in the West Indies, Gray said, and it gives an approximate height of the Tainos.
The bird statuette has a long beak and a cylindrical rod rising from its back to support a canopy extending over the bird's head.
Worshipers would have placed hallucinogenic powders on the canopy for sniffing during rituals.
The small carved wooden scoop has attributes of a human head.
The archaeologist said the artifacts are dated from between 650 and 1500. Further dating is to be done when the full excavation of the site is complete.
The pieces will be on permanent loan to the National Gallery of Jamaica, where they will form the foundation of a pre-Columbian collection.
ManageKINGSTON, JAMAICA KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ A small wooden bird, a scoop and a statue of a man have focused archaelogical attention on a tiny cave in the hills of northern Jamaica.
The three carvings, presented to the public Friday by the Jamaica Heritage Trust, are thought to represent ''cemis'' or images of deities and other symbols sacred to the Taino, the people who met Christopher Columbus in St. Ann's Bay in 1494.
The artifacts represent the second largest group of Taino artifacts found in Jamaica - the last comparable find was 200 years ago.
The carvings were discovered by a Jamaican, Leonard Clayton, in an almost inaccessible cave in the north coast parish of St. Ann, said Dorrick Gray, the trust's acting director of archaeology. The cave will be the focus of studies sponsored by the trust.
According to Gray, two of the world's experts on Taino culture, Irving Rouse and Jose Arrom of Yale University, have authenticated the finds.
The carved figure of the man, about 5-feet tall, represents the tallest found so far in the West Indies, Gray said, and it gives an approximate height of the Tainos.
The bird statuette has a long beak and a cylindrical rod rising from its back to support a canopy extending over the bird's head.
Worshipers would have placed hallucinogenic powders on the canopy for sniffing during rituals.
The small carved wooden scoop has attributes of a human head.
The archaeologist said the artifacts are dated from between 650 and 1500. Further dating is to be done when the full excavation of the site is complete.
The pieces will be on permanent loan to the National Gallery of Jamaica, where they will form the foundation of a pre-Columbian collection.
Trevor Burrowes Extraordinary!!!!! I wonder how we get Yale archaeology and architecture students to collaborate on a combined old town SAB/Seville restoration and development program?
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