Explore Puerto Rico: Photo Essay

Near Utuado is Caguana Indian Ceremonial Park and Museum, the most important archaeological site in the Caribbean. Originally excavated by the famous archaeologist J.A. Mason in 1915, the park has been restored and established under the auspices of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. The 10 bateyes (ball courts) are situated on a small spur of land surrounded by fairly deep ravines on three sides. Enter to find beautifully flowing arbors, roosters crowing, and mother hens tending their chicks. The largest rectangular bateye measures 60 by 120 ft (20 by 37 m). Huge granite slabs along the W wall weigh up to a ton. A few are carved with faces (halfhuman, halfmonkey) which are typical of TaínoChico culture. One has deep, cuplike, haunting eyes. La Mujer de Caguana (shown to left), most famous of all the petroglyphs, is a woman with frog legs and elaborate headdress. Originally, all of the slabs were decorated with reliefs, but most of these have been lost due to erosion. The bateyes are bordered by cobbled walkways. This site dates from AD 1200.

Parts of text are from Explore the Puerto Rico.. All is original material.

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