The arrival of the European conquistadores in theNew Worldmarked the beginning of a social , economic , and spiritual schism on a global scale . While the prescribed records describe an uncompromising and one - sided cultural disintegration , resulting in the defunctness of the indigenous metaphysical rules of order , a serial of fresh find markings in cave on a minuscule Caribbean island evoke that not all European invader were quite so heavy - handed .
Describing the findings in the journalAntiquity , the researchers provide a new position on the “ inner duologue of spiritual clash between Christian and Native worldviews ” shortly after the first Europeans get in in the area .
During the 16th C , as Word of God was spreading throughout the Old World about a new and mysterious continent , inhabited by godless savage , the small island of Mona arise into a hub of colonial natural action . Having survey around 70 cave systems on the island , investigator have discovered a Brobdingnagian collection of indigenous illustrations etched onto the cavern wall , many of which depict key motifs relate to their spiritual beliefs and iconography .
An image engrave onto the walls of a cave on the island of Mona . University of Leicester
One cave in peculiar , known as Cave 18 , seem to have hold special significance for thepre - Columbiannatives of Mona , as it hold a strikingly large density of image , and seems to have been visited more often than other caves .
When prove these etchings , the researchers stumble upon the amazing discovery of several Romance and Spanish inscriptions and Christian motifs , all of which have been dated back to the 1550s and are play along by the name of the Spanish colonist who made them . take on a closer tone at these markings , the field authors believe they provide a record of a theological debate , during which the native and European inhabitants of Mona discuss and seek to reconcile their respective spiritual notion with one another .
For instance , among the phrasal idiom find out drop a line on thecave wallsare the like of “ verbum caro factum est ” – mean “ and the world was made material body ” – by someone called Bernardo in 1554 , as well as others like “ dios te perdone ” ( “ may god forgive you ” ) . In addition , the research worker detect delineation of Jesus on the cross , with these image intersperse among indigenous motifs .
It therefore seems that the aboriginal and Spanish visitant to the cave used its walls as a forum to replace ideas and belief regarding concepts such as the conception of the humankind and the afterlife , among other things . The fact that Christian crosses were always scratch above autochthonous drawings may also indicate the conquistador ’ endeavor to instill a ghostlike pecking order on the island , mean that their god is superior to all native ones . However , this may also mull the unproblematic fact that Europeans were generally magniloquent than autochthonous Americans , and therefore made their etching high-pitched up .
The interspersing of Christian and native imagery in this means marks a major going away from traditional understanding of the way that Europeans levy their spiritism on their indigenous hosts . For instance , the study authors notice that “ the worked up and theological fiber of the inscriptions is different from the excommunication of the inquisition in plaza such as contemporary Mexico , where the incorporation of autochthonous iconography into a Calvary view would have been deeply heterodox . ”
The reasons for this evident spiritual cooperation is unclear , although the researchers suggest that both parties may have benefited economically from maintaining a venerating relationship with one another . Regardless of the true reason behind this religious alliance , it ’s clean that the paper archives that tell the official story of the spiritual conquest of the Americas overlook several cozy details , which are recorded not in books but on the very landscape painting of the continent itself .
The inscription " IESUS " refer to Jesus . University of Leicester
