Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology

48 / Berman, Febles, and Gnivecki
ganized along the lines of the Soviet Akademia Nauk (Suchlicki 2001:4), archaeology,
like other scienti¤c disciplines, became formally recognized and
funded by the government. The Academy of Sciences, which replaced the
Academia de Ciencias de La Habana, was established once the “necessary conditions
for an increased development of science were created” (Statutes of the
Academy of Sciences of Cuba 2001). The CAS is responsible for the coordination
and implementation of scienti¤c and technical research. Archaeologist
Ernesto Tabío, who returned to Cuba after years of self-exile in Lima during
the Batista regime, participated in the formation of the CAS and founded and
directed its anthropology department (Oyuela-Caycedo et al. 1997:366).
On April 16, 1961, Fidel Castro proclaimed Cuba a socialist country (Pérez
1995). Social scientists adopted a historical materialist perspective and archaeologists
modeled their work after Soviet archaeology. According to Domínguez
(1991:9), the goal of archaeology is to de¤ne and explain Cuban history,
to promote a materialist understanding of Cuba’s history, and to provide temporal
depth to that history. While many of Fidel Castro’s speeches acknowledge
the role of history (after the Spanish conquest) in shaping the present
day, at least one speech recognizes the role of prehistory. Lourdes Domínguez
(1991:9) cites a 1968 speech given by Fidel Castro (published in 1975) in 1968,
in which “he says that we have the duty to undertake the investigation of our
oldest history, as a ¤tting imperative for the discovery and analysis of the
heritage of our country [cuando nos dice que debemos abordar la investigación
de nuestro pasado más antiguo como la tarea justa de ahondar y profundizar
en las raíces históricas de este país].” The unique character of the
Cuban national identity that emphasizes themes of struggle and resistance
extends these notions to prehistory, as memorialized throughout the country
at highly visible public sites associated with archaeology and history. A statue
of a young Cuban Indian woman stands outside the entrance of the Capitolio
(Figure 3.2), which houses the Academy of Sciences. She represents liberty
and the Cuban republic (Baker 1997:264). Not far from the Capitolio is the
Fuente de la India Noble Habana, a fountain surmounted by a marble statue
of The Noble Havana, the Indian woman for whom the province is named;
tourist guides describe her as an Indian queen (Baker 1997). A famous statue
of Hatuey stands in Baracoa’s Plaza Independencia, facing the cathedral.
Education and Training
Pérez (1995:358) and others have noted that the most notable achievements of
the Revolution have been in the areas of education, nutrition, and health