"Treasure Trove" Of Tools, Animal Bones Found In Underwater Caribbean Cave

August 18, 2009 8:41 p.m. EST

Bloomington, IN (AHN) - A "treasure trove" of stone tools and the bones of several now-extinct Caribbean animals have been found in an underwater cave by researchers from the University of Indiana Bloomington.

Stone tools, the skull of a small primate, and several bones from several species of sloths were found in fresh water 28 to 34 feet deep in a cave called Padre Nuestro in the Dominican Republic. The cave is accessible only by diving into a small pool beneath a limestone bluff.

The tools are estimated to be about 4,000 to 6,500 years old, according to Geoffrey Conrad, director of the Mathers Museum of World Culture at IU Bloomington. He said the animal could be between 4,000 and 10,000 years old.

"I know of no place that has sloths, primates and humanly made stone tools together in a nice, tight association around the same time," Conrad said in a statement. "Right now it looks like a potential treasure trove of data to help us sort out the relationship in time between humans and extinct animals in the Greater Antilles. This site definitely is worthy of a large-scale investigation."

The primate skull is believed to that of a howler monkey, which is extinct in the Caribbean. The sloth bones came from several species of sloths, one of which was the size of a black bear and another the size of a large dog.