Santo Domingo – In a significant cultural preservation move, the Dominican Senate has unanimously endorsed legislation designating the Borbón Caves, commonly referred to as the Pomier Caves, as the official “Rock Art Capital of the Dominican Republic.” This parliamentary action represents the final approval stage for the bill, which seeks to elevate both domestic and international awareness of this extraordinary archaeological treasure situated in the Borbón sector of San Cristóbal province.
The legislative proposal was championed by Senator Gustavo Lara Salazar, who emphasized the site’s unparalleled anthropological significance during parliamentary deliberations. The Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve stands as one of the Caribbean’s most substantial archaeological complexes, safeguarding evidence of prehistoric human habitation spanning over a millennium. This preservation provides crucial understanding into the earliest cultural manifestations throughout the Antilles archipelago.
Encompassing 55 separate caverns distributed across four square kilometers, the reserve features subterranean passages extending up to 1,000 meters beneath the surface. Scientific documentation reveals approximately 6,000 ancient pictographs portraying animal and human forms, complemented by roughly 500 intricate petroglyphs. These artistic creations are primarily attributed to the Taíno and Igneri civilizations that flourished prior to European colonization in 1492, highlighting the location’s exceptional historical and scientific value for anthropological research and Caribbean cultural heritage.