The discovery provides an insight as to how the indigenous tribes of the Igneri and Taínos lived and played during and before the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World.

Within its boundaries is also the largest indigenous cemetery discovered to date – consisting of 186 human skeletons, most from the Igneri and the rest from the pre-Taíno cultures.

The presence of shell middens and refuse heaps at the site will afford an opportunity to study subsistence patterns as well as possibly some information on the paleo-environment.

[9] Over 186 human remains were found within the boundaries of the ceremonial center, in what is considered to be the largest indigenous cemetery in the region.

The Centro Ceremonial Indigena at Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico, was discovered during the days after heavy rain downpours.

The survey was conducted by the Sociedad Guaynia de Arqueologia e Historia and was sponsored by the Puerto Rico Institute of Culture.

Clearing the area's high brush revealed a number of shell middens, as well as the major features of the site which were the carefully laid out stone constructions traditionally referred to as ball courts.

The remaining two ball courts are U-shaped, bounded on each side by a walk paved with flat river cobbles and boulders.

[8] A number of test pits have been excavated to establish an absolute and relative chronology as well as to define the potential for the site.

[8] The Taínos who inhabited Puerto Rico before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493, played a series of games which were both ceremonial and recreational, such as races, contests involving body strength and fishing.

[11] According to the eyewitness account of Spanish historian Pedro Martir de Angleria, the body strength games were played in front of the whole village in the presence of the "Cacique" (Chief) and in some occasions an invited guest.

[11][14] According to archeologists, the ball parks and ceremonial centers were built by the Igneri Culture, a Pre-Taíno tribe which inhabited the island.

[11] According to archaeologist Osvaldo Garcia Goyco, there is evidence that some of the plazas are oriented in relation to the equinox and solstices of the four seasons of the year.

Most of the knowledge and information that we have about the traditions of the Taínos came about the personal observations and historical documentations of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas.

Fray Bartolomé de las Casas described an "Areyto" in the following manner: "And on this island what I could understand was that their songs which they call "areytos", were their history passed from person to person, fathers to sons from the present to the future, as here uniting many Indians... passing three or four hours or more until the teacher or guide of the dance finished the history, and sometimes they went from one day to the next.

However, before the Taíno tribes ceased to exist in Puerto Rico, Spanish historians such as Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, were able to witness and record the life and customs of these people.