200+ Indian villages found on Columbus’ Dominican Republic route

Santo Domingo.-A study found more than 200 indigenous settlements located in DominicanRepublic’s north and northwest, the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology(Intec) announced Friday.

Thediscovery came from an international study that follows the route ChristopherColumbus took originally in 1494 to the penetrate heart of Hispaniola island forthe first time.

The researchfunded by the European Union through the "Nexus 1492 Meetings of theCaribbean with a Globalized World" project, also aims to shed new light onunderstanding the interaction between the diversity of indigenous communitiesthat populated the region before the Europeans’ arrival (13th and 15thcenturies) and the ensuing cultural and social transformations, Intec said in astatement.

The studyheaded by scientists at the University of Leiden and the Free University ofAmsterdam, in the Netherlands, as well as local experts from Intec and theMuseum of the Dominican Man, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry ofEducation.