MUSEUM EXPEDITION TO SAMANA, 192 8 7 



early extinction of the Cigiiay (long-haired) Indians of Samana by 

 their Spanish oppressors has made difficult the solution of archeo- 

 logical problems created by the extensive deposits of shells and other 

 kitchen refuse in the caves of the south shore of the bay. 



San Gabriel Cave. — The floor of the cave known as San Gabriel 

 lies from 10 to 20 feet above the sea level. San Gabriel is a small 

 islet just off the south shore of Samana Bay. The cave occupies prac- 

 tically the entire interior of a limestone island key and is one of 

 the most pleasantly habitable caves of the Playa Honda coast. Origi- 

 nally formed by sea cutting, the floor of the cave has been raised 

 by the deposition of fallen rock masses which later disintegrated. 

 Then, too, the gradual uplift of the land surface noticeable through- 

 out the entire Samana Bay area has brought the floor to a plane 

 high above the level of the tide. The deposits of cultural material 

 in the kitchen middens were therefore entirely in the dry. Deposits 

 of conch, clam, and other shells are approximately 6 feet deep on the 

 cave floor in the proximity of the only available cave entrance. This 

 section of the cave floor is roughly 20 feet wide and 50 feet in length. 

 The aboriginal hearth fire was maintained here underneath an over- 

 hanging ledge of rock and the kitchen debris making up the deposits 

 in this area were sheltered from rain and storm. Hearth fires had 

 been built up on successive layers of ashes and charcoal to a height 

 several feet above the level of the kitchen midden, so that a sharp 

 slope away from the fire place characterized the midden at this f)oint. 



A trench was dug from the outer edge of iho^ midden, nearest the 

 water's edge, toAvard the center of the deposit. This trench was 

 4 feet wide and was carried down to the bottom of the midden. As 

 the San Gabriel cave is most favorably situated of all the caves on 

 the keys of the Playa Honda coast, it was supposed that here might 

 be found the best-preserved evidence of the type of culture of the 

 aboriginal pre-Ciguayan cave dwellers of Samana. 



Results were disappointing, as nothing was recovered from the 

 San Gabriel deposits that added to our knowledge gained from ex- 

 cavation of the several caves on the mainland of the south shore of the 

 bay. Scattered through the midden were fragments of shells prin- 

 cipally conch and clam ; fragmentary shards of undecorated pottery ; 

 flaked but not chipped stone implements ; caches of spherical pebbles 

 and of coral; polishing stones and pitted stones obviously used as 

 hammers. 



From the " Railroad " cave were recovered three distinct types of 

 pottery — a thin brown or gray ware, well fired but undecorated; a 

 coarser, poorly fired, and undecorated ware; and a third type con- 

 sisting of fragments of crude, brick-red pottery similar to the flat 

 earthenware cassava griddles of the Taino but globose or bowl shape. 



