Punta
del Este Caves are located 20 km from Cayo Piedra. Through Lanier Swamp
there are an eastern way giving access into the place.
The first data obtained about Punta del Este, located at south-eastern
of Isla de la Juventud were taken in 1903 by Charles Berchona French geographer,
but until 1922 first real archaeological information aren’t obtained
with Fernando Ortiz’s visit to the cave, confirming it was the rests
of a pre-Columbian temple
.
Unfortunately it wasn’t until 1967 when started a successful ransom
and conservation work of these caves, but by that time those caves had
been hardly mutilated by previous populators who made from the caves their
home. The populators plundered the pre-Columbian objects these people
damaged the original paintings with the soot of their cookers. These painting
are the main attractive of those caves.
More
than 230 cave paintings are drown in the 5 caves in Punta del Este, in
a cavernous space more than 20 mts wide and 20 mts depth. The size of
these imposing cave paintings made on these caves walls and ceilings give
the name of Cuba’s Sistine Chapel.
The drawings in Punta del Este are lineal, abstract ad geometric remaining curvilinear lines.
Its position is completely symbolic and chosen colours are red and black
.
According to carbon 14 test the ancient of the drawings is 850 years AC
although it is thought they could be even older.
In
the symbolic allusions of these cave paintings is represented the succession
of days by nights in the worship calendar, 28 concentric circles, in which
are detached a red arrow represent the lunar month.
Every day sunbeams enters through the porch of the main cave (No.1) following this astral route and lightning different sections of the mural. On march 21, date corresponding to the spring equinox a sunbeam enters through a hole in the ceiling and reaches the centre of a rounded stone located in the cave centre.