Los Problemas de la Arqueología Antillana

Created for a symposium hosted by the Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico, this 1978 poster by José Alicea reflects a growing academic interest in pre-Columbian archaeology throughout the Antilles. The 1970s saw a revival of Taino studies, with new excavations and interdisciplinary research that sought to reconstruct Indigenous cultural practices erased or obscured by colonial narratives. Alicea incorporates stylized petroglyph imagery, referencing cave art and stone carvings that serve as some of the region’s most important archaeological evidence.

The swirling waves and bright Caribbean color palette connect the viewer to the natural landscapes where Taino sites were originally found. Alicea’s framing of these ancient symbols within a modern graphic poster reinforces the ongoing relevance of Indigenous history in Puerto Rico’s cultural identity. The work stands as an important document of the island’s intellectual efforts to reclaim and reinterpret its ancestral past.