Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site facts for kids
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Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site
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Taíno ball courts at Caguana Site
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 Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site
Location in Puerto Rico
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| Location | Highway 111, Km 12.3 Utuado, Puerto Rico |
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| Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
| Built | Around 1270 AD |
| MPS | Ball Court/Plaza Sites of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands |
| NRHP reference No. | 92001671 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 17, 1992 |
| Designated NHL | November 4, 1993 |
The Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site is a very important archaeological site in Puerto Rico. It is found in Utuado. This place is one of the most significant ancient sites in the West Indies. It is famous for its well-kept ceremonial ball courts. You can also see large stones called monoliths with carvings on them. Experts believe the Taíno people built these courts around 1270 AD. This means they are over 700 years old!
Contents
Discovering Caguana's Secrets
About 13 ancient ball courts and plazas, called bateyes, have been found here. Many of them have been carefully put back to how they looked long ago. You can see large stones, called monoliths, and petroglyphs. These are carvings made by the Taíno people. Some of these stones weigh more than a ton! They were probably brought from the Tanamá River, which is close to the site.
The way the ball courts are placed at the site is very interesting. They seem to line up with special events in the sky. This suggests the site might have been used to watch and even predict things like how planets and stars move. Many of the carvings on the stones show objects from space, like the moon, stars, and planets. Even though Caguana is not a World Heritage Site, its connection to astronomy is well-known. The UNESCO Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative recognizes its importance.
A Look Back in Time
Local people first called this area Corrales de los Indios. This means "Indian corrals" in Spanish. They named it this because some of the ball courts looked like corrals. The first time anyone really explored the site was in 1914. This was done by an American expert named John Alden Mason.
Since the 1930s, people have been studying the site all the time. First, archaeologists from Yale University, like Irvin Rouse, worked there. Later, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and Dr. Ricardo Alegría continued the studies. The park and a small museum at Caguana first opened to visitors in 1965.
Protecting This Special Place
The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture takes care of the Caguana site. They manage it as a park called the Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center. The National Park Service has also listed it on the National Register of Historic Places. They also named it a National Historic Landmark in 1993. This means it is a very important historical place in the United States.
The park also has a small museum. Inside, you can see artifacts made by the Taíno people. There are also exhibits that show what archaeologists have found. The park also has a small botanical garden. Here, you can see some of the plants the Taínos grew for food. These include sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, and yautía. You can also see many trees that the Taínos used to build their homes, called bohíos. Some of these trees are mahogany and ceiba. The site is also part of the UNESCO Astronomy World Heritage List.
Gallery
Scenes at Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site:
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Stones and mountain behind
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Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site
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Ball Court
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Bird drawn on stone
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Faces drawn on stones
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Traditional Bohio like the ones built by the Taino
See also
In Spanish: Centro ceremonial indígena de Caguana para niños
