Rare Find in the Caribbean
Researcher Jessica Keller holds the primate skull found in an underwater cave.
Photo by Charlie Beeker.
As reported on page 13 of the November/December 2009 issue of the Indiana Alumni Magazine, a team of IU divers working in the Dominican Republic discovered stone tools; a small primate skull in excellent condition; and other bones of several species of sloths. Found in an underwater cave known as Padre Nuestro, the artifacts could help researchers better understand the earliest human inhabitants of the Greater Antilles.
This video was shot after the artifacts had been transported back to IU. In the opening scene, Charlie Beeker, left, and Geoffrey Conrad describe the artifacts. In the second scene, Conrad speaks of the find’s significance. Beeker, who led the expedition at Padre Nuestro, is director of the Academic Diving Program and the Underwater Science Program, both through the IU School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. Conrad is director of the Mathers Museum of World Culture at IU Bloomington and professor of anthropology
This video shows a tour of Padre Nuestro, shot a few weeks before IU researchers discovered the primate skull, stone tools, and sloth bones. IU’s Dave Rust was on hand for the tour. The following is from Rust’s blog account.
No museum exhibit can match this one. Island officials trekked to the hills above Bayhibe to participate in a rare video tour through one of the island’s underwater aquifers. Charlie Beeker’s dive team wears special communication masks and explains underwater features to the audience above.
Most of the visitors have never seen an underwater cave from inside. A few tell me they had no idea how valuable these spaces were until this live presentation. Everybody is entertained by the diver’s informal descriptions.
The divers explain that these caves were dry at one time — filling with water perhaps 5,000 years ago. IU researchers were surprised to find remains of several giant sloths there, still preserved by the cool fresh water. The animals are extinct now and scientists want to find out if they died off before humans arrived — or because humans arrived. In the centuries since, native humans have carved artwork into the caves’ entrances and left broken water containers in their depths, leaving clues to these ancient societies.
Despite being laden with special equipment and navigating the hazardous environment, divers John Foster, Jessica Keller, and Fritz Hanselmann seem strangely at home explaining its features. The tour lasts 25 minutes. You can see three minutes of highlights in the movie above.
The audience includes Dominican officials from Environment, Parks, and Cultural Affairs, as well as representatives from USAID. Charlie is sure that this first-hand experience will convince the government to declare these aquifers off-limits to most visitors and set them aside as protected areas. If they do, Indiana University will play a role in their management and any subsequent research efforts.