Message from Brian David Oakes:
Hi friends,
I wanted to share these recent photographs of Haitian caves, Taino pictographs, and petroglyphs with all of you. Haiti has amazing treasures that we need to record and preserve.
Photographs are located here.
Caves in Haiti, and all that is associated with those caves in terms of their biology, geology, archeology, anthropology, etc., have been little studied. I have been exploring and mapping the caves of Haiti these past 5 years with experts from various institutes in the United States and France. One of the most fascinating and at-risk aspects of Haitian caves are the hundreds of Taino pictographs and petroglyphs that can be found throughout the country.
A first step in the protection of this most wonderful heritage is the documentation and registration of whatever we can find. In order to do this a small group of amateurs and professionals has formed the Haitian Speleological Survey that has set itself a mission to serve as a central repository for recording and documenting as much information as possible related to Haitian Caves.
All are welcome to join and we can be contacted at the [email protected].
In the meantime, please enjoy the pictures and I await your comments.
Let’s work together to make the world aware of the true importance of Haiti to the global community. We also need to encourage our university students to take up related fields of study to better understand our speleology.
Please share with your friends.
Brian
Hi Brian,
What a WONDERFUL DISCOVERY! I traveled to Haiti back in the ’70’s, but at that time did not have an interest in the ancient pictographs and petroglyphs. Now, when I can get some time, I have researched these ancient rock writings in our country including parts of Hawaii, Australia, China, Africa and other places. What is happening to them is shocking, especially the defacing that is deliberately done by shooting, spray painting, scratching, removing or trying to remove the images, etc. Documentation and EDUCATION is the key their survival. These are an important link to our past.
Since the late ’80’s I have tried, in my own small way, to educate the public about these wonderful writings in my work. I find them absolutely fascinating, especially the connection I have observed in the images between countries and continents. So much more has to be done, so BRAVO to you and your team for the work you are doing. There are so many more of these writings to be discovered globally and documented!