SMITflSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I928 49 



peelers, who work in the mangrove swamps (hiring the day and find 

 the cave shelter a satisfactory domicile at night. 



Covering much of the interior floor of the caves are large deposits 

 of guano which were many years ago extensively exploited for use 

 as fertilizer. The removal of guano disturbed some of the culture 

 deposits which in several instances had been removed along with the 

 guano. This commercial use of the cave deposits greatly hampered our 

 scientific investigations. 



Deposition of shells in the kitchenmiddens had produced heaps of 

 varying thickness ; but in those i)ortions of the caves, usually near the 

 entrances, which were obviously devoted to culinary purposes, the 

 refuse heaps reached a thickness of nine feet or more. Where the 

 deposits had not been disturbed or removed in part by collectors of 

 fertilizer, excavation and systematic study of the refuse heaps was 

 undertaken. Obstructions due to fallen rock were negligible as the 

 environs of Samana Bay appear never to have suffered much from 

 destructive earthquakes. Only a few broken stalactites were observed. 



;\s pointed out before, surface finds were distinctly post-Columbian, 

 while extensive middens containing rude artifacts of shell and bone, 

 and of flaked stone were identical throughout. No stratification show- 

 ing definitely marked differences in the culture remains were noted 

 except in one instance. This one exception was a clearly marked break- 

 in the deposits of the cave on the mainland just east of the abandoned 

 railroad track about two-thirds kilometer inland from the shore of 

 San Lorenzo Bay. Here was found a layer, composed of clam and 

 oyster shells interspersed with mammal, bird, and fish bones and with 

 crab claws, forming a deposit of an average thickness of three to 

 five feet. As excavation continued, there was found underneath this 

 layer a stratum of l)lack loamy soil approximately eight inches in 

 thickness. Beneath this deposit of soil was another culture deposit 

 four to six feet in depth which included mostly conch shells and 

 practically no animal ])ones. Crude, characteristically pre-Ciguayan 

 implements of shell, bone, and of flaked stone were recovered from 

 this lower culture deposit, while pottery shards, some of which were 

 decorated, and pottery food bowls were recovered from the upper 

 culture deposit. 



The stratification here revealed appears to indicate that the cave 

 had been abandoned by the conch eaters to be later reoccupied by 

 aborigines having a preference for clams, and in general for a diet 

 including a variety of animal food. These later pre-Columbian cave 

 dwellers possessed a material culture approximating that of the 



