4 BULLETIN 14 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



The floor of the caves in the vicinity of the south shore of Samana 

 Bay is of the same limestone of which the small islands and the main- 

 land of the south shore are formed. Samana Bay is the drowned 

 extremity of the great Cibao Valley which extends practically the 

 entire length of the island and lies between the northern Cordillera 

 Setentrional and the Cordillera Central. Samana Bay, however, 

 shows traces of recent emergence and a tilting of the rock strata. 

 Evidence of this appears in the raised sea beaches, raised coral reefs, 

 and sea caves, such as are especially numerous in the region explored 

 by the Museum expedition along the south shore of the bay. 



Sharply defined hills, formed by erosion, border the south shore 

 of Samana Bay west of the arm known as San Lorenzo Bay. These 

 hills have precipitous walls, and where they reach the shore are 

 undermined by the wash of the gea. The force of the sea action has 

 slowly excavated caves, ranging in size from a few feet to a city 

 block. Inside the caves the floor is level or downward in slope, the 

 surface being usually filled in with debris and masses of fallen rock. 

 The ceiling of the caves is high and vaulted in most instances, 

 although the height varies from a few feet to more than a hundred. 

 While many caves are raised above the present sea level, others are 

 in process of formation. The plane of elevation of those caves which 

 show traces of human occupancy is usually 10 or more feet above 

 sea level, although the cave interior of formerly inhabited caves in 

 some instances is inundated at high tide. Continuous elevated lines 

 of sea cutting extend along the entire limestone area of the south 

 shore of the bay. When two or more eroded beaches are exposed to 

 view in superimposed position their course is not always parallel and 

 the distance in feet between beach levels is not constant. These 

 observations may indicate an irregular tilting of the rock or may 

 illustrate the continuous eroding and cave-building power of the sea 

 throughout the period of uplift. 



The floor of the caves is covered with a thick layer of reddish 

 yellow soil. The soil is exceedingly fine grained, but is compact and 

 not at all sandy. Lying upon this stratum is the deposit of aboriginal 

 kitchen middens. This culture layer is of irregular depth, greatest 

 near the cave entrance, but sloping down to isolated heaps at a 

 considerable distance away. 



The kitchen middens of the caves contain deposits of conch, clam, 

 and of other species of shells, crab claws, mammal, fish, turtle, and 

 bird bones cast there by the pre-Columbian Indian cave dweller. 

 The bottom of the deposits of shell is embedded in the yellow soil, 

 while the upper sections are interspersed with deposits of ash, char- 

 coal, and a small quantity of artifacts, including shell utensils, 

 shards of broken pottery, and implements of flaked stone. 



