Manantial de la Aleta is a flooded limestone sinkhole deep within the tropical forest of Cotubanamá National Park in eastern Dominican Republic. Archaeological investigations were requested by Dominican authorities in 1996 to determine the nature of the site and how to preserve it in a National Park. This led to a 3-year research effort by Indiana University, guided by Dominican experts, to document La Aleta as the first known offertory site in the Taíno culture area—a Taíno cenote. Underwater preservation conditions were extraordinary—allowing the recovery of select artifacts that normally don’t survive in tropical climates. These examples, some over 1,000 years old, reveal much about Taíno material culture and their offerings to sustain a watery underworld called “Coaybay.” This talk will examine the La Aleta artifacts and the sacred landscape they occupy. Taíno cultural observations recorded by Fray Ramón Pané in 1494–98 can help us understand the nature of votive activity in an extraordinary archaeological context. Note: No human remains were encountered during this study.

John W. Foster earned a BA (UCLA) and MA (Long Beach State) in anthropology (archaeology) and did further graduate study at the University of Arizona. He was hired by Fritz Riddell to develop and manage CRM programs in California State Parks. John retired from a 34-year park career and held an adjunct faculty position at Indiana University for 20 years. As the California State Underwater Archaeologist, John helped extend state park management offshore in California to include shipwrecks and submerged cultural features. John has published widely on underwater archaeology, rock art, park management, and other research topics. He has done field work across California, the American Southwest, Baja California, central Mexico, and the Caribbean. He has been part of three National Geographic specials including the searches for a Columbus shipwreck and Capt. Kidd’s pirate ship. He also worked with INAH in Baja California to record and identify a Manila galleon shipwreck.