Ometepe
Encyclopedia
Ometepe is an island formed by two volcano
es rising from Lake Nicaragua
in the Republic of Nicaragua
. Its name derives from the Nahuatl
words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains. It is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua
as well as the largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake in the world.
The two volcanoes, Concepción
and Maderas
, are joined by a low isthmus
to form one island in the shape of an hourglass
. Ometepe has an area of 276 km². It is 31 km long and 5 to 10 km wide. The island has a population of 42,000, and an economy based on livestock
, agriculture
, and tourism
. Plantains are the major crop.
As of June 2010, it is scheduled to be named a UNESCO Biosphere Preserve
.
. In their footsteps came the Niquirano Indians, who established an important settlement on the island. Their ceramics
and monument
s still amaze. Traces of this past can still be found in petroglyph
s and stone idols
on the northern slopes of Maderas volcano. The oldest date from 300 BC.
After the Spaniards had conquered the Central American region in the 16th century, pirates began prowling Lake Nicaragua
. They came in from the Caribbean Sea
via the San Juan River. The inhabitants of Ometepe were hard hit. The pirates robbed them of their women, animals, possessions and harvest. They also erected settlements on the shore, making it their refuge. This made the local population, seeking shelter, move to higher grounds on the volcanoes. The island was finally annexed, through settlement, by the Spanish conquistador
s at the end of the 16th century. But French
, English
(such as Francis Drake
) and Dutch
pirates still endangered the island until the late 17th century.
The most important villages on the island are Altagracia (pop. 4081), on the eastern side, and Moyogalpa (pop. 2905), with its harbor on the northwestern side of the island. These two villages are the centers of the two municipalities, between the island is divided. Many traditions are kept alive. They celebrate more religious and folk festival
s than anywhere in Nicaragua
.
Today, Ometepe is developing tourism
and ecotourism
, with the archaeological
past and the bounty of its nature sanctuary, the exotic vegetation, animal and bird life as drawcards. There are plans to construct an international airport on the island.
Volcán Concepción (once named Ometepe volcano) is the northwest half of the island. Concepción is a symmetrical cone, and is an active volcano (Baker, 2006). Concepción volcano rose in the early Holocene
Epoch and, through continual eruptions, now reaches an altitude of 1 610 m. It is the world's highest lake island. This volcano is considered the most perfectly formed volcano cone in Central America
. The volcano went through a long quiet period, but on 8 December 1880 Concepción came back to life. This eruption was extensive, and the volcano remained active for a year. More eruptions followed in 1883, 1889, 1902, 1907, and 1924. In 2005, an earthquake
measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale
occurred as a result of increasing pressure within the active Concepción volcano. Cracks appeared in the roads on Ometepe and advice to leave the island was issued. This was the first minor eruption since 1999. The most recent eruption was in 2010. This eruption was extremely violent; however few of the island's inhabitants heeded the order from the government in Managua
to evacuate the island.
The southeast half of the island consists of Volcán Maderas, which has a crater lake and supports a diverse rainforest environment. This volcano also arose in the Holocene Epoch, and rises 1 394 m above sea level
. It is considered extinct or dormant. A large lagoon
formed in its crater
, and was discovered on 15 April 1930 by the farmer Casimiro Murillo. It is covered with coffee and tobacco plantations and the remaining rain forest. This volcano is a perfect destination for the ecotourist
with a notable hike originating from Finca Magdalena. Much of this part of the island is now a nature reserve.
The volcanic ash
has made the soil of this island extremely fertile
, allowing continuous planting without fallowing. The volcanoes are visible from everywhere on the island, and life on Ometepe revolves closely around them. They also play an important part in the myths and legends of the island, which once served as an Indian burial ground.
Ometepe Island is generally included within the archaeological
area of “Greater Nicoya
,” which also encompasses the Rivas area on the lake shore and descends into Costa Rica
n Nicoya Peninsula. Due to the deposits of volcanic ash over the millennia, the soil is very fertile, allowing constant planting without fallowing. This rich environment has allowed the island to be continuously inhabited since the Dinarte phase (ca. 2000 – 500 B.C.). There is a classified “Ometepe period” (A.D. 1350–1550) Greater Nicoyan Period, which corresponds to Mesoamerica
n Postclassic period. This period is associated with the migration of the Nicarao
(Nahua speakers) into the area of Greater Nicoya (McCafferty & Steinbrenner, 2005).
The archaeologists who have done fieldwork on the island over the years are:
The Ceramic Type "Ometepe Red Slipped-Incised" is found on Ometepe Island. It is a Late Polychrome Period ceramic type, and it is usually found in the form of jar sherds. This type of ceramic is identifiable because it is scraped on both the inside and out, and smoothing and polishing is done on the exterior body and rim. The slip, over the rim and outside, is a dull red to brown, while only the inside of the neck is slipped. Lines are cut into the lip of the jar, and triangles are the most common motif, either interlocking or meeting tip to tip. Other ceramic types found on the island include: Granada Polychrome from the Middle Polychrome Period, Castillo Late Polychrome, and Luna Ware Polychrome (Healy, 1980).
The Ometepe Petroglyph Project was a volunteer field survey of the Maderas half of Ometepe from 1995–1999. This project intensively surveyed 15 km of the Maderas half of the island over five field seasons. The project mapped 73 archaeological sites within this 15 km area, including almost 1700 petroglyph
panels on 1400 boulders.
Of the 73 sites surveyed by the Ometepe Petroglyph Project, petroglyphs were recorded at all but one. Many of the petroglyphs on Ometepe contain spirals, and “meander” across the rock face. Stylized turtle
s are a common motif for the area.
The petroglyphs of Ometepe include some forms which are less common. Figures in many of the depictions are described as having “bowling ball faces” on human figures. As noted above, spirals are common, and are apparently used in several ways. Two attached spirals appear to represent the island, with its two volcanoes. Spirals also are used to depict the head of anthropomorphic
figures.
Some of the unusual formations seen within the petroglyphs on Ometepe include seats or steps carved into boulders, ovals, and big grooves. The purpose behind these forms has not yet been explained.
Between the 1995 and 1996 field seasons, ten sites were recorded. The greatest concentration of petroglyphs was noted at N-RIO-3, probably recorded by Haberland as Om-38. Located along the slopes and at the top and of a ridge, the site contains 82 boulders with petroglyphs, six mortars, two metate
s and a scatter of ceramics and chert
lithics
. Of the 149 petroglyphs recorded during 1996, most were located on land owned by the cooperative at the hacienda.
When the program was expanded in 1997, to include volunteers, 20 volunteers participated in recording fifteen additional sites. The most impressive site, N-RIO-19, was greater than 180,000 square meters in area. Ninety-two petroglyphs, over 30 house mounds, stone statuary fragments, and pottery from at least three different periods of occupation were recorded at the site, and the material was being studied in Managua.
The Ometepe Petroglyph project is an interesting example of modern technology assisting in the recording of archaeological sites. As the prehistoric art sited were being surveyed and recorded, pictures were and taken of each site in both black and white. A video was even made at one site. Photos were then uploaded into a computer, and the Photoshop program was then use to increase the contrast of the photos, increasing the visibility of the petroglyphs pictured. This allowed for a more accurate record of sites that by necessity were photographed in less than ideal conditions and lighting. In addition to the remote area and poor lighting, on Ometepe Island, the depth of the engraved lines on petroglyphs thus far recorded varies from “immeasurably shallow” to around three centimeters (Ometepe Petroglyph Project Website, 2006).
, (Cebus capucinus) and populations of the Mantled Howler monkey (Alouatta palliata). Efforts are being made to study and protect these animals. The Ometepe Biological Field School
is situated on the Maderas side of the island. Here, students and scientists from all over the world come to study the unique flora and fauna of the area.
The lake surrounding Ometepe harbours many species of aquatic animals, notably the Nicaragua shark
, which until recently was thought to be a unique species of freshwater shark, but has since been shown to be continuous with ocean-populations. Small populations of spider monkey
s (Ateles s.) inhabit very small islands within Lake Nicaragua. These populations exist solely due to humans and many of the local fishermen routinely stop by and feed these troops. The local form of the rice rat Oryzomys couesi is distinctive and may represent a separate subspecies
.
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es rising from Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada or is a vast freshwater lake in Nicaragua of tectonic origin. With an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world and the 9th largest in the Americas. It is slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation...
in the Republic of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. Its name derives from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains. It is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada or is a vast freshwater lake in Nicaragua of tectonic origin. With an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world and the 9th largest in the Americas. It is slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation...
as well as the largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake in the world.
The two volcanoes, Concepción
Concepción (volcano)
Concepción is one of two volcanoes that form the island of Ometepe, which is situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America....
and Maderas
Maderas
With a height of 1,394 m, Maderas is the smaller of the two volcanoes which make up the island of Ometepe, situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America. Unlike Concepción, the other volcano on the island, Maderas has not been active in historical times...
, are joined by a low isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
to form one island in the shape of an hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
. Ometepe has an area of 276 km². It is 31 km long and 5 to 10 km wide. The island has a population of 42,000, and an economy based on livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. Plantains are the major crop.
As of June 2010, it is scheduled to be named a UNESCO Biosphere Preserve
World Network of Biosphere Reserves
The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, that are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between man and nature The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected...
.
Inhabitants
The island first became inhabited in the Dinarte phase (ca 2000-500 BC), although evidence is questionable. The first known inhabitants were Nahua Indians from MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In their footsteps came the Niquirano Indians, who established an important settlement on the island. Their ceramics
Ceramics (art)
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
and monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
s still amaze. Traces of this past can still be found in petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s and stone idols
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
on the northern slopes of Maderas volcano. The oldest date from 300 BC.
After the Spaniards had conquered the Central American region in the 16th century, pirates began prowling Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada or is a vast freshwater lake in Nicaragua of tectonic origin. With an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world and the 9th largest in the Americas. It is slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation...
. They came in from the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
via the San Juan River. The inhabitants of Ometepe were hard hit. The pirates robbed them of their women, animals, possessions and harvest. They also erected settlements on the shore, making it their refuge. This made the local population, seeking shelter, move to higher grounds on the volcanoes. The island was finally annexed, through settlement, by the Spanish conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s at the end of the 16th century. But French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(such as Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
) and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
pirates still endangered the island until the late 17th century.
The most important villages on the island are Altagracia (pop. 4081), on the eastern side, and Moyogalpa (pop. 2905), with its harbor on the northwestern side of the island. These two villages are the centers of the two municipalities, between the island is divided. Many traditions are kept alive. They celebrate more religious and folk festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s than anywhere in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
Today, Ometepe is developing tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
, with the archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
past and the bounty of its nature sanctuary, the exotic vegetation, animal and bird life as drawcards. There are plans to construct an international airport on the island.
Volcanos
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
Epoch and, through continual eruptions, now reaches an altitude of 1 610 m. It is the world's highest lake island. This volcano is considered the most perfectly formed volcano cone in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. The volcano went through a long quiet period, but on 8 December 1880 Concepción came back to life. This eruption was extensive, and the volcano remained active for a year. More eruptions followed in 1883, 1889, 1902, 1907, and 1924. In 2005, an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
occurred as a result of increasing pressure within the active Concepción volcano. Cracks appeared in the roads on Ometepe and advice to leave the island was issued. This was the first minor eruption since 1999. The most recent eruption was in 2010. This eruption was extremely violent; however few of the island's inhabitants heeded the order from the government in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
to evacuate the island.
The southeast half of the island consists of Volcán Maderas, which has a crater lake and supports a diverse rainforest environment. This volcano also arose in the Holocene Epoch, and rises 1 394 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. It is considered extinct or dormant. A large lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
formed in its crater
Volcanic crater
A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...
, and was discovered on 15 April 1930 by the farmer Casimiro Murillo. It is covered with coffee and tobacco plantations and the remaining rain forest. This volcano is a perfect destination for the ecotourist
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
with a notable hike originating from Finca Magdalena. Much of this part of the island is now a nature reserve.
The volcanic ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
has made the soil of this island extremely fertile
Fertility
Fertility is the natural capability of producing offsprings. As a measure, "fertility rate" is the number of children born per couple, person or population. Fertility differs from fecundity, which is defined as the potential for reproduction...
, allowing continuous planting without fallowing. The volcanoes are visible from everywhere on the island, and life on Ometepe revolves closely around them. They also play an important part in the myths and legends of the island, which once served as an Indian burial ground.
Archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
area of “Greater Nicoya
Nicoya
Nicoya is a town in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province, and one of its most important tourist zones. It serves as a transport hub to Guanacaste's beaches and national parks. According to the 2000 census, the city's population was 13,334—second only to Liberia in the province...
,” which also encompasses the Rivas area on the lake shore and descends into Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
n Nicoya Peninsula. Due to the deposits of volcanic ash over the millennia, the soil is very fertile, allowing constant planting without fallowing. This rich environment has allowed the island to be continuously inhabited since the Dinarte phase (ca. 2000 – 500 B.C.). There is a classified “Ometepe period” (A.D. 1350–1550) Greater Nicoyan Period, which corresponds to Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n Postclassic period. This period is associated with the migration of the Nicarao
Nicarao
Nicarao is the name of the capital city of the most populous indigenous tribe when the Spanish arrived in Nicaragua. Gil González Dávila, who first explored the area, came up with this Central American country's name by combining Nicarao and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, after the two large...
(Nahua speakers) into the area of Greater Nicoya (McCafferty & Steinbrenner, 2005).
The archaeologists who have done fieldwork on the island over the years are:
- 1880s: J.F. Bransford
- 1959-1961: excavations by Dr. Gordon WilleyGordon WilleyGordon Randolph Willey was an American archaeologist famous for his fieldwork in South and Central America as well as the southeastern United States...
and Albert Norweb. - 1962: Wolfgang Haberland and Peter SchmidtPeter SchmidtPeter Schmidt was a Berlin-born British artist, painter, theoretician of color and composition, pioneering multimedia exhibitor and an influential teacher. He was part of a generation of art school teachers in the 1960s and 1970s that had great impact on some students who later went on to work in...
- 1995–1999: Susan Baker - Ometepe Petroglyph Project
Ceramics
Dr. Gordon Willey and Albert Norweb excavated the Cruz site (named after the Cruz Hacienda), on the North East part of the island. This site is important because it produced nearly 30,000 sherds, most of which belonged to the Late Polychrome Period. The upper levels of the site produced the diagnostic ceramic types which came to define the Late Polychrome Period for the whole of the Rivas area. Pieces were also found from the San Jorge phase of the Zoned Bichrome Period (Healy, 1980).The Ceramic Type "Ometepe Red Slipped-Incised" is found on Ometepe Island. It is a Late Polychrome Period ceramic type, and it is usually found in the form of jar sherds. This type of ceramic is identifiable because it is scraped on both the inside and out, and smoothing and polishing is done on the exterior body and rim. The slip, over the rim and outside, is a dull red to brown, while only the inside of the neck is slipped. Lines are cut into the lip of the jar, and triangles are the most common motif, either interlocking or meeting tip to tip. Other ceramic types found on the island include: Granada Polychrome from the Middle Polychrome Period, Castillo Late Polychrome, and Luna Ware Polychrome (Healy, 1980).
Petroglyphs
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
panels on 1400 boulders.
Of the 73 sites surveyed by the Ometepe Petroglyph Project, petroglyphs were recorded at all but one. Many of the petroglyphs on Ometepe contain spirals, and “meander” across the rock face. Stylized turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s are a common motif for the area.
The petroglyphs of Ometepe include some forms which are less common. Figures in many of the depictions are described as having “bowling ball faces” on human figures. As noted above, spirals are common, and are apparently used in several ways. Two attached spirals appear to represent the island, with its two volcanoes. Spirals also are used to depict the head of anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
figures.
Some of the unusual formations seen within the petroglyphs on Ometepe include seats or steps carved into boulders, ovals, and big grooves. The purpose behind these forms has not yet been explained.
Between the 1995 and 1996 field seasons, ten sites were recorded. The greatest concentration of petroglyphs was noted at N-RIO-3, probably recorded by Haberland as Om-38. Located along the slopes and at the top and of a ridge, the site contains 82 boulders with petroglyphs, six mortars, two metate
Metate
A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
s and a scatter of ceramics and chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
lithics
Lithic flake
In archaeology, a lithic flake is a "portion of rock removed from an objective piece by percussion or pressure," and may also be referred to as a chip or spall, or collectively as debitage. The objective piece, or the rock being reduced by the removal of flakes, is known as a core. Once the proper...
. Of the 149 petroglyphs recorded during 1996, most were located on land owned by the cooperative at the hacienda.
When the program was expanded in 1997, to include volunteers, 20 volunteers participated in recording fifteen additional sites. The most impressive site, N-RIO-19, was greater than 180,000 square meters in area. Ninety-two petroglyphs, over 30 house mounds, stone statuary fragments, and pottery from at least three different periods of occupation were recorded at the site, and the material was being studied in Managua.
The Ometepe Petroglyph project is an interesting example of modern technology assisting in the recording of archaeological sites. As the prehistoric art sited were being surveyed and recorded, pictures were and taken of each site in both black and white. A video was even made at one site. Photos were then uploaded into a computer, and the Photoshop program was then use to increase the contrast of the photos, increasing the visibility of the petroglyphs pictured. This allowed for a more accurate record of sites that by necessity were photographed in less than ideal conditions and lighting. In addition to the remote area and poor lighting, on Ometepe Island, the depth of the engraved lines on petroglyphs thus far recorded varies from “immeasurably shallow” to around three centimeters (Ometepe Petroglyph Project Website, 2006).
Wildlife
Ometepe harbors large populations of the White-faced Capuchin monkey, also called White-headed CapuchinWhite-headed Capuchin
The white-headed capuchin , also known as the white-faced capuchin or white-throated capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae...
, (Cebus capucinus) and populations of the Mantled Howler monkey (Alouatta palliata). Efforts are being made to study and protect these animals. The Ometepe Biological Field School
Ometepe Biological Field School
The Ometepe Biological Field School, located on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, is one of two field school operated by the Maderas rainforest conservancy The Ometepe Biological Field School, located on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, is one of two field school operated by the Maderas rainforest conservancy...
is situated on the Maderas side of the island. Here, students and scientists from all over the world come to study the unique flora and fauna of the area.
The lake surrounding Ometepe harbours many species of aquatic animals, notably the Nicaragua shark
Bull shark
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers...
, which until recently was thought to be a unique species of freshwater shark, but has since been shown to be continuous with ocean-populations. Small populations of spider monkey
Spider monkey
Spider monkeys of the genus Ateles are New World monkeys in the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil...
s (Ateles s.) inhabit very small islands within Lake Nicaragua. These populations exist solely due to humans and many of the local fishermen routinely stop by and feed these troops. The local form of the rice rat Oryzomys couesi is distinctive and may represent a separate subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
.