The site of Chacuey is an important Taíno ceremonial centre in northwest Dominican Republic, near the Chacuey River.
The site is of enormous importance to the cultural heritage of the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean. Chacuey was investigated in the early 1950s by the local Institute of Anthropological Research, but during the 1980s, part of it was heavily damaged by road construction.
Settlement Layout
Chacuey shares some characteristics with other important Taíno settlements. The presence of extensive stone work in the form of causeways, an enclosed plaza and pavements connect it with other Taino centres such as Caguana and Tibes.
As typical of many Taíno sites, Chacuay has a central ceremonial space, roughly aligned northeast to southwest, enclosed by a series of standing stones with petroglyphs. Around this plaza there is a paved surface that probably provided a gathering place for people watching what takes place within the ceremonial space.
The plaza is connected to the Chacuey River by two parallel causeways, over 600 m long, made of stone cobbles covered by soil, about 3 m to 3.5 m wide. Where this double causeway enters the plaza, archaeologists encountered two standing stones, about 1 m high, engraved with human-like faces.
Petroglyphs and River Pools at Chacuey
Near the river, there is a series of bathing pools, surrounded by engraved stones with images of human faces and animals, similar to those found at Caguana. Because of these petroglyphs, the pools are called “Pool of the Twins” and “Pool of the Little Faces”.
As already attested in other Caribbean sites, these petroglyphs are clearly linked to Taíno’s history and religion, such as mythology and ancestor veneration, in the period preceding the Spanish conquest.
At Chacuey, the size of the central plaza and the surrounding pavement, the extent of the two causeways, along with the amount of work necessary to maintain them are important indicators of the level of Taíno’s social organization and local caciques (rulers) leadership at the dawn of European conquest.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Caribbean, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Saunders Nicholas J., 2005, The Peoples of the Caribbean. An Encyclopedia of Archaeology and Traditional Culture. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California.
Wilson, Samuel, 2007, the Archaeology of the Caribbean, Cambridge World Archaeology Series. Cambridge University Press, New York.