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Cave Art Reveals Evangelism in the New World

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Archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery on a Caribbean island, finding cave art that depicts Christian evangelism by Spanish explorers. 

The 16th century artwork was discovered in a series of underground caves on Isla Mona, or Mona Island, a lone island located about 40 miles west of Puerto Rico.

In one example, the three crosses of Calvary are inscribed in soft limestone above the name of Jesus, written in Latin.

Early European explorers, along with indigenous peoples, created the art, which records the first interaction between two different worldviews, according to the journal Antiquity

The tiny island has around 200 caves. Archaeologists found indigenous artwork in more than two dozen. It includes human and animal hybrids, faces, crosses made differently than Christian crosses, lines, and swirls -- all drawn with fingers.

"These finger-fluted designs reflect the spiritual beliefs of the indigenous people," investigator Jago Cooper, curator of the Americas at the British Museum in London, told National Geographic.

In one of the caves that has indigenous art, archaeologists discovered markings made by early Europeans who traveled to the island. The inscriptions include Spanish names, Latin and Spanish phrases, abbreviations of the name of Jesus, and numerous Christian crosses. 

Also included are names and dates, mostly from the mid 1500s. Christopher Columbus visited the island during his second voyage in 1494. 

"What we're seeing here is a dichotomy between two very different sets of art," Cooper explained. "The later set is definitely drawn by Europeans who are having a reaction to, and a dialog with, the indigenous art."

The research team says the markings show that both people groups were explaining their belief systems to each other. 

According to National Geographic, the location of the different sets of markings, the absence of art depicting conflict, and the fact that the explorers would have needed the help of indigenous people to find the cave all stand in opposition to the familiar story of the Spanish conquering the New World. 

"This is some of the earliest evidence of Christianity in the Americas and how the indigenous Taíno population experienced it," Cooper told IBTimes UK. "It shows that locals and Europeans interacted and communicated about their beliefs."

"It is also a very good insight into the origins of the identities that were shaped in the Americas after the European arrival; it shows the process by which hybrid identities were being built," he continued.

"The indigenous population invited the Europeans into this cave - a very sacred place for them, as they believed that their people had originated from a cave - and told them about what they believed in," Cooper said. "In return, Europeans drew their own Christian belief system on the walls."

"Accounts of the encounters between Europeans and indigenous populations that we have access to are usually one-sided. We often only have the perspective of Europeans," Alice Samson, the co-director of the cave study, told IBTimes UK. "Here, we have evidence of more personal, intimate cultural and religious encounters."
 
Interestingly, the caves provide the only permanent source of fresh water on Mona Island, which is now a nature reserve, not inhabited by people. Experts say there's a connection between that life-giving resource and the vivid pictures inscribed on the walls.

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