Inside a deep underground cave located in the Ocampo Natural Protected Area in Coahuila, specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) carried out the archaeological recovery of a mortuary collection from desert cultures dating back at least 500 years. This will provide important information about the region’s nomadic inhabitants.
This was followed by a citizen complaint about the looting of bone remains, which was addressed through a collaboration between the INAH Coahuila Center and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP).
Archaeologist-expert Yuri de la Rosa Gutiérrez, supported by specialists from the Coahuila Speleology Association, located the entrance to the mortuary chamber: an almost imperceptible hole in the immensity of the mountains.
Skulls and Textile Fragments
Through a vertical shaft, only 50 centimeters wide, they reached the first level, four meters below ground. There, on the threshold of darkness, after crossing a crack, a room opened up. Through another vertical shaft, they continued their descent, eight meters lower, until they reached where the skeletal remains were found: a small semicircular chamber containing textile fragments, characteristic of desert cultures, mixed with human bones.
“This is a pre-Hispanic mortuary cave with the general characteristics of this type of desert site,” De la Rosa states. However, he warns that “the bodies must have been wrapped in textiles, like mortuary bundles, accompanied by various objects inside the bundle and placed on the floor, on top of baskets and mats, but unfortunately, looting altered the context.” Despite this, he assures that important information will be recovered about the hunter-gatherer populations that inhabited the region in the pre-Cortesian era.
The archaeologist explains that the burial site is similar to the Candelaria Cave, with a shaft leading to the lower part where several chambers are located; however, its location is closer to the United States border than to the cave explored in the Coahuila desert between 1953 and 1954, which marked a milestone in our understanding of these societies.
He also emphasizes that the desert dwellers were experts at making ropes of different thicknesses, which allowed them to enter the depths of the caves during their mortuary rites.
Given the alterations, looting, and interventions by outsiders, the INAH decided, once the site was inspected and the skeletal remains were disposed of, to carry out the archaeological salvage of the skeletal and cultural materials to prevent further plundering. So far, in an initial on-site analysis conducted by physical anthropologist Eva Zamarrón, 12 complete skulls were recovered, five of which belong to infants, one still with primary teeth, and two with permanent teeth about to emerge.
Hundreds of bones from all parts of the human body were also recovered. The specialist estimates that they belong to at least 17 male and female individuals, including children, older adults, and young people. The 15 textile fragments correspond to four types of mats, made in the pre-Hispanic era, recovered from the surface of the chamber and within crevices.
In addition to the heritage value of the remains, the archaeological rescue dignifies a sacred burial site of ancient settlers, which was being disrespectfully desecrated by looters and adventurers.
The remains were transferred to the Regional Museum of La Laguna, in Torreón, Coahuila, where they will be cleaned, preserved, and analyzed. The mortuary cave will also be added to the national catalog of archaeological sites in Coahuila, reported the INAH.
Source: aristeguinoticias
