52 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



Ciguayan Indians who formerly occupied the north shore of Samana 

 Bay and who gave l)attle to Cohiml)us when he entered the bay to 

 observe an ecHpse of the moon and to take on fresh water before 

 returning to Spain to report his discovery of the New XA'orld. 



After completing investigation and exploration of the caves, we 

 began the excavation of two Ciguayan village sites on the north shore, 

 that is. on Samana Peninsula. The Ciguayan village site at Anadel. 

 a point two kilometers east from the town of Santa Barbara de 

 Samana on the north shore of Samana Bay, was worked first. The 

 next project undertaken and the last of the season's work was the 

 uncovering of the ancient village site of the Ciguayan chief Mayo- 

 banex at the mouth of the San Juan River on the north coast of the 

 peninsula, about lo kilometers due north of the town of Santa Barbara 

 de Samana. 



Anadel is but two kilometers distant from Samana. so that it was 

 unnecessary to make camp at the village site. Living quarters were 

 established at Hotel " r)equi " in Samana. Becky (Bequi) is the 

 daughter of an American negress who emigrated from Philadelphia 

 in 1820. A large number of descendants of American negroes from 

 Boston. Baltimore, and Philadelphia still live on the [jeninsula in the 

 vicinitv of Samana. These negroes remain more American than 

 Dominican, although their old revival h\nins are translated into 

 .S])anish, the language of the country. 



The Ciguayan village site at Anadel covers roughly a tract of five 

 acres although only a small portion of the site was found suitable for 

 excavation. A large quantity of cultiu'al material consisting of imple- 

 ments of shell, stone, and bone, and of decorated jiottery, together 

 with mammal, fish, and bird bones, was ccjllected. Work was continued 

 here for a period of three weeks. Artifacts from Anadel and from 

 the upper culture stratum of the " Railroad " cave on the mainland of 

 the south shore are sufficiently similar to justify an assumption of 

 tribal identity for the later aboriginal occupants of the caves and the 

 Indians who occu])ied Anadel. Such identity in txpes of artifacts does 

 not apply to the lower culture stratum from the caves. This clearly 

 belongs to a pre-Ciguayan population. 



The most extensive Ciguayan village site explored is that located 

 at the mouth of the Rio San Juan. The valle}- of the San Juan River 

 is accessible by horse and bullock transportation only, as there are no 

 roads suited to wheel trafftc. There is a deep rich soil and the clumps 

 of bamboo and tiny banana or plantain gardens become more numerous 

 as the valley broadens out near the mouth of the stream and the 



