Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center
Encyclopedia
The Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center (Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Tibes) in Barrio
Portugués
, Ponce, Puerto Rico
, houses one of the most important archeological discoveries made in the Antilles
. The discovery provides an insight as to how the indigenous tribes of the Igneri
and Taíno
s lived and played during and before the arrival of Christopher Columbus
to the New World. Tibes is the oldest Antillean
Indian ceremonial and sports complex yet uncovered in Puerto Rico. Within its boundaries is also the largest indigenous
cemetery yet discovered – consisting of 186 human skeletons, most from the Igneri and the rest from the pre-Taíno cultures. Based on the orientation of the ceremonial plazas, this is also believed to be the oldest astronomical observatory in the Antilles.
The continuous occupation from Igneri
to Taíno
times, the presence of the large stone constructions, the presence of shell middens and stratified deposits, all afford an opportunity to investigate some of the major substantive and theoretical problems in Caribbean archeology. Besides lending itself to the traditional problems of culture, history and chronology, the site provides the ideal setting for the study of the cultural processes responsible for the transition from Igneri to Taíno cultural manifestation. There has been some controversy in the literature as to whether there was a direct unilinear, in situ, transition from one to the other or whether the two manifestations actually represent two different groups. The data at this site can contribute significantly to the resolution of this research problem, as well as to other basic questions pertaining to the changes in sociopolitical organization which may have gone along with the changes evidenced in the material culture.
The site also lends itself to the study of problems relating to extra-Antillean influences on the Caribbean. The evidence from the site indicates that possible influences from Meso-America, e.g. the ball game, are in evidence in Puerto Rico as early as 700 A.D. The presence of shell middens and refuse heaps at the site will afford an opportunity to study subsistence patterns as well as possibly some information on the paleoenvironment. The burials and associated grave
goods will provide an insight into social, religious, ceremonial/symbolic systems of these occupants, as well as provide information on prehistoric demographic patterns, nutrition, disease and other prehistoric population characteristics.
Over 186 human remains were found within the boundaries of the ceremonial center, in what is considered to be the largest indigenous cemetery
in the region. Most of the remains were from the Igneri Culture and DNA
samples have been taken from the remains for further studies. Information such as the ceremonies, eating habits, ceramic styles and much more has been provided from these remains and from the excavations.
The site is now a tourist attraction which was opened to the public in 1990. Artifacts
found on the site are on display and can be seen in a museum on the site and at the Ponce Museum of Art
.
It has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since April 14, 1978. It is also known as the Centro Ceremonial Indigena.
. Clearing the area's high brush revealed a number of shell middens, as well as the major features of the site which were the carefully laid out stone constructions traditionally referred to as ball courts.
A total of seven ball courts and a quadrangular plaza are distributed throughout the site. Five of the ball courts are rectangular, consisting of two parallel lines of flat stones and open at both ends. The remaining two ball courts are U-shaped, bounded on each side by a walk paved with flat river cobbles and boulder
s. Another major feature of the site is a series of triangular stone arrangements surrounding a flat excavated area.
The main feature of the site is the nearly quadrangular enclosure which has been called a plaza. It is bounded on two sides by a walk paved with flat stones while the other two sides are defined with flat slabs. Many of the stones surrounding the plaza bear petroglyph
s. It should be noted that the terrain within the ball courts and plaza have been artificially modified. Several shell middens are scattered irregularly throughout the site and is some instances the ball courts intrude into them, indicating that the site was occupied for an extended period of time with a gradual evolution into a ceremonial center.
A number of test pits have been excavated to establish an absolute and relative chronology as well as to define the potential for the site. These indicate that the site was originally occupied by the earliest agricultural immigrants into the greater Antilles
, the Igneri. Radiocarbon dates and pottery analyses have revealed a continuous period of occupation between 400 A.D. and 1000 A.D. The last inhabitants of the site were presumably the Taínos.
s) and ball playing.
The ball game, called "Batey", was played in the ceremonial ball court, which they also called a "Batey
", situated in the middle of the village. The fields were either shaped like a triangle or like a "U". The ball was called Batu and made of rubber and vegetable leafs, which gave it flexibility. Two teams played against each other. One team to the west and the other to the east. The fathers and sons played on the opposet teams. The objective of the game was to keep the ball in constant motion. The players were allowed to use their heads, elbows, shoulders and knees. The team would lose a point, if for any reason the ball stopped moving. The score was kept with a mark on the ground and the game would end after the losing team received a certain amount of points. The winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed. The game had changed by the time the first Spanish settlers arrived. According to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
the game was played in the following manner: "One team served the ball and the other team returned it, using anything but the hands. If the ball arrived at shoulder height, it was returned like lightning. When it came in near the ground, the player rapidly hit the ground, striking the ball with his buttocks. Play continued from side to side until an error was made.
, members of the Archeological Society of the Southwest, announced the discovery of the ruins of a "Batey" in a barrio
called Portugués
, on the outskirts of the city of Ponce
. A total of 9 ball fields were discovered buried under thick forest overgrowth, dating back to AD
25 in the area which is now known as "Centro Ceremonial Indigena de Tibes" (The Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center). The fields varied in size from 12.8 meters (42 ft) long by 10.9 meters (35.8 ft) wide to 35.1 meters (115 ft) long by 9.3 meters (30.5 ft) wide.
According to archeologists, the ball parks and ceremonial centers were built by the Igneri Culture, a Pre-Taíno tribe which inhabited the island. Modern technology tells us that the area was populated in 25 AD and that the Igneri abandoned the area in 600 AD for some unknown reason or reasons. The Taínos populated the same area in 1000 AD.
According to archeologist Osvaldo Garcia Goyco, there is evidence that some of the plazas are oriented in relation to the equinox and solstics of the four seasons of the year. This is not unusual since the Taínos cultivated their crops in accordance to their astrological observations. The Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center is the oldest astronomical observatory in the Caribbean.
. The Taínos were enslaved and forced to build fortifications and to work the mines. Many died because of this harsh treatment, and also because of the introduction to diseases such as smallpox
to the island by the Spaniards. However, before the Taíno tribes ceased to exist in Puerto Rico, Spanish historians such as Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, were able to witness and record the life and customs of these people.
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
Portugués
Portugués
Portugués is one of the 31 barrios in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Magueyes, Tibes, Monte Llano, Maragüez, Machuelo Arriba, Sabanetas, and Cerrillos, Portugués is one of the municipality's eight rural interior barrios.-Location:Portugués is a mountainous rural barrio located...
, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, houses one of the most important archeological discoveries made in the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
. The discovery provides an insight as to how the indigenous tribes of the Igneri
Igneri
The Igneri were an ethnic group that was once part of the Arawak tribe. They inhabited the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico during the Pre-Columbian era. They are said to have originated in the Orinoco region in Venezuela...
and Taíno
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
s lived and played during and before the arrival of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
to the New World. Tibes is the oldest Antillean
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
Indian ceremonial and sports complex yet uncovered in Puerto Rico. Within its boundaries is also the largest indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
cemetery yet discovered – consisting of 186 human skeletons, most from the Igneri and the rest from the pre-Taíno cultures. Based on the orientation of the ceremonial plazas, this is also believed to be the oldest astronomical observatory in the Antilles.
Significance
The Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center is one of the largest and most significant Indian sites in the Caribbean islands, and is the largest ceremonial site in Puerto Rico.The continuous occupation from Igneri
Igneri
The Igneri were an ethnic group that was once part of the Arawak tribe. They inhabited the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico during the Pre-Columbian era. They are said to have originated in the Orinoco region in Venezuela...
to Taíno
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
times, the presence of the large stone constructions, the presence of shell middens and stratified deposits, all afford an opportunity to investigate some of the major substantive and theoretical problems in Caribbean archeology. Besides lending itself to the traditional problems of culture, history and chronology, the site provides the ideal setting for the study of the cultural processes responsible for the transition from Igneri to Taíno cultural manifestation. There has been some controversy in the literature as to whether there was a direct unilinear, in situ, transition from one to the other or whether the two manifestations actually represent two different groups. The data at this site can contribute significantly to the resolution of this research problem, as well as to other basic questions pertaining to the changes in sociopolitical organization which may have gone along with the changes evidenced in the material culture.
The site also lends itself to the study of problems relating to extra-Antillean influences on the Caribbean. The evidence from the site indicates that possible influences from Meso-America, e.g. the ball game, are in evidence in Puerto Rico as early as 700 A.D. The presence of shell middens and refuse heaps at the site will afford an opportunity to study subsistence patterns as well as possibly some information on the paleoenvironment. The burials and associated grave
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
goods will provide an insight into social, religious, ceremonial/symbolic systems of these occupants, as well as provide information on prehistoric demographic patterns, nutrition, disease and other prehistoric population characteristics.
Over 186 human remains were found within the boundaries of the ceremonial center, in what is considered to be the largest indigenous cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in the region. Most of the remains were from the Igneri Culture and DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
samples have been taken from the remains for further studies. Information such as the ceremonies, eating habits, ceramic styles and much more has been provided from these remains and from the excavations.
The site is now a tourist attraction which was opened to the public in 1990. Artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
found on the site are on display and can be seen in a museum on the site and at the Ponce Museum of Art
Ponce Museum of Art
Museo de Arte de Ponce, or MAP, is an art museum located on Las Americas Avenue in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is considered the finest art museum in Puerto Rico. It houses a collection of European art, as well as work by Puerto Rican artists. The largest art museum in the Caribbean, it has also been...
.
It has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since April 14, 1978. It is also known as the Centro Ceremonial Indigena.
Physical appearance
The Centro Ceremonial Indigena at Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico, was located during the days after heavy rain downpours. The survey was conducted by the Sociedad Guaynia de Arqueologia e Historia and was sponsored by the Puerto Rico Institute of CultureInstitute of Puerto Rican Culture
The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture , 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, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse the cultural values of Puerto Rico...
. Clearing the area's high brush revealed a number of shell middens, as well as the major features of the site which were the carefully laid out stone constructions traditionally referred to as ball courts.
A total of seven ball courts and a quadrangular plaza are distributed throughout the site. Five of the ball courts are rectangular, consisting of two parallel lines of flat stones and open at both ends. The remaining two ball courts are U-shaped, bounded on each side by a walk paved with flat river cobbles and boulder
Boulder
In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
s. Another major feature of the site is a series of triangular stone arrangements surrounding a flat excavated area.
The main feature of the site is the nearly quadrangular enclosure which has been called a plaza. It is bounded on two sides by a walk paved with flat stones while the other two sides are defined with flat slabs. Many of the stones surrounding the plaza bear 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. It should be noted that the terrain within the ball courts and plaza have been artificially modified. Several shell middens are scattered irregularly throughout the site and is some instances the ball courts intrude into them, indicating that the site was occupied for an extended period of time with a gradual evolution into a ceremonial center.
A number of test pits have been excavated to establish an absolute and relative chronology as well as to define the potential for the site. These indicate that the site was originally occupied by the earliest agricultural immigrants into the greater Antilles
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
, the Igneri. Radiocarbon dates and pottery analyses have revealed a continuous period of occupation between 400 A.D. and 1000 A.D. The last inhabitants of the site were presumably the Taínos.
Pre-Columbian era
The Taínos who inhabited Puerto Rico before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, played a series of games which were both ceremonial and diversional, such as races, contests involving body strength and fishing. However, the two most important of these sports were the simulated warrior fights (similar to the gladiatorGladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s) and ball playing.
Body strength games
According to the eye-witness account of Spanish historian Pedro Martir de Angleria, the body strength games were played in front of the whole village in the presence of the "Cacique" (Chief) and in some occasions an invited guest. Two teams would fight with bows and arrows in defense of their possessions as if they were enemies. In one of the events, witnessed by Angleria, four men died and many others were injured in the space of one hour. The contest would come to an end only if the Cacique gave the ending signal.Ball games
Batey (game)
batey was the name given to a special plaza around which the native Caribbean Taino Indians built their settlements. It was usually a rectangular area surrounded by stones with carved symbols known as petroglyphs....
", situated in the middle of the village. The fields were either shaped like a triangle or like a "U". The ball was called Batu and made of rubber and vegetable leafs, which gave it flexibility. Two teams played against each other. One team to the west and the other to the east. The fathers and sons played on the opposet teams. The objective of the game was to keep the ball in constant motion. The players were allowed to use their heads, elbows, shoulders and knees. The team would lose a point, if for any reason the ball stopped moving. The score was kept with a mark on the ground and the game would end after the losing team received a certain amount of points. The winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed. The game had changed by the time the first Spanish settlers arrived. According to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
the game was played in the following manner: "One team served the ball and the other team returned it, using anything but the hands. If the ball arrived at shoulder height, it was returned like lightning. When it came in near the ground, the player rapidly hit the ground, striking the ball with his buttocks. Play continued from side to side until an error was made.
Discovery
In 1975, archaeologists from the Guaynia Society of Archeology and History at the Catholic University of Puerto RicoPontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico is a Roman Catholic university located in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses in the areas of education, business administration, arts and human studies and science, leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate Degrees. Its campus is also home...
, members of the Archeological Society of the Southwest, announced the discovery of the ruins of a "Batey" in a barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
called Portugués
Portugués
Portugués is one of the 31 barrios in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Magueyes, Tibes, Monte Llano, Maragüez, Machuelo Arriba, Sabanetas, and Cerrillos, Portugués is one of the municipality's eight rural interior barrios.-Location:Portugués is a mountainous rural barrio located...
, on the outskirts of the city of Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. A total of 9 ball fields were discovered buried under thick forest overgrowth, dating back to AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
25 in the area which is now known as "Centro Ceremonial Indigena de Tibes" (The Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center). The fields varied in size from 12.8 meters (42 ft) long by 10.9 meters (35.8 ft) wide to 35.1 meters (115 ft) long by 9.3 meters (30.5 ft) wide.
Early inhabitants
 |
According to archeologists, the ball parks and ceremonial centers were built by the Igneri Culture, a Pre-Taíno tribe which inhabited the island. Modern technology tells us that the area was populated in 25 AD and that the Igneri abandoned the area in 600 AD for some unknown reason or reasons. The Taínos populated the same area in 1000 AD.
According to archeologist Osvaldo Garcia Goyco, there is evidence that some of the plazas are oriented in relation to the equinox and solstics of the four seasons of the year. This is not unusual since the Taínos cultivated their crops in accordance to their astrological observations. The Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center is the oldest astronomical observatory in the Caribbean.
Areyto
The Taínos had their own culture, customs and governing structure. Besides using the fields for ball playing, they would also use the plazas to celebrate the "Areyto" which was a celebration consisting of telling an oral history told by singing and dancing accompanied by music. Most of the knowledge and information that we have about the traditions of the Taínos came about the personal observations and historical documentations of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. Fray Bartolomé de las Casas described an "Areyto" in the following manner: "And on this island what I could understand was that their songs which they call 'areytos,' were their history passed from person to person, fathers to sons from the present to the future, as here uniting many Indians... passing three or four hours or more until the teacher or guide of the dance finished the history, and sometimes they went from one day to the next."Arrival of the Spaniards
When the Spaniards arrived in the island one of their first missions was to convert the Taínos into Christianity. They considered the ceremonial and religious practices of the Tanios as uncivilized and a form of paganismPaganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
. The Taínos were enslaved and forced to build fortifications and to work the mines. Many died because of this harsh treatment, and also because of the introduction to diseases such as smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
to the island by the Spaniards. However, before the Taíno tribes ceased to exist in Puerto Rico, Spanish historians such as Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, were able to witness and record the life and customs of these people.
Ongoing work
- Previous archaeological work has been very limited, despite the uncovering and "restoration" of many of the stone alignments.
- Much of the site has yet to be explored and a number of other stone alignments are known to exist outside the mowed area.
- Except in the burial area, previous excavations have been confined to test pits rather than more extensive, areal exposures.
- Previous work has been largely on the bateyes rather than the spaces between where ethnohistoric sources suggest houses may have stood. Careful excavation in these places may reveal post holes and hut foundations, as well as refuse disposal areas.
- The pottery at the site spans nearly the entire ceramic history of Puerto Rico and it would be surprising not to find some evidence of Archaic peoples at Tibes also. No other similar site has such a long sequence of material.
- An accurate and detailed topographic map may reveal other features that suggest artificial terracing.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans - Taínos
- Taínos
- List of Taínos
- List of archaeological sites sorted by country