Message #68192

[Bianca]

The importance of caves in Taino mythology is expressed in their association of animals
that frequent or live in caves with the ancestors.

Bats and owls are especially important in this regard.

Moreover, the decoration of cave walls with petroglyphs and pictographs enhanced the
ritual significance of these passages to the underworld.

Petroglyphs have been reported from only one cave in the Turks & Caicos. This cave is
located near Jacksonville Harbour on East Caicos and was visited by Theodoor de Booy
in 1912 when the East Caicos Sisal Company was in operation and bat guano was being
excavated from several caves.

Several efforts to find the cave have been unsuccessful.

There are no cave paintings reported for the Bahama archipelago.