Underwater archaeologists plunged into the waters of Quintana Roo and they discovered an incredible ocher mine considered the oldest in America, It ranges between 12,000 and 10,000 years before the present.
The ocher mine, the most recent finding by underwater archaeologists from the Quintana Roo AC Aquifer System Research Center (CINDAQ) and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), could be evidence that the ancestors practiced mining, according to the Caves Fred Devos and Sam Meacham, co-directors of the center.
“The landscape in this cave is notably altered, which leads us to think that prehistoric human beings extracted tons of ocher from it, perhaps, seeing the need to light bonfires to illuminate their space”,
Fred Devos, co-director of CINDAQ.
The experts explained that during their first tours in the underground system, in 2017, they noticed the existence of stalactites and stalagmites broken in half, as well as stones arranged in small triangular mounds, which they could not have formed naturally.
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Through a statement, the Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) He explained that the discoveries made recently have allowed a little understanding of pre-Hispanic human beings.
“Now we know that ancient humans not only took risks entering the cave maze to look for water or flee predators, but also entered them to carry out mining, altering them and generating cultural modifications inside.”
Roberto Junco Sánchez, head of the INAH subsection of Underwater Archeology.
So far, no human skeletal remains have been found in the ocher mine in Quintana Roo; However, rudimentary excavation tools were found, signs that they would have used so as not to get lost, and accumulations of stones linked to this original mining task, the institute said in its statement.
Through his official Twitter account, the INAH shared the findings of the ocher mine ensuring that there is “irrefutable evidence of prehistoric mining activity”.
