Chiquihuite cave

Chiquihuite cave is a possible Upper Paleolithic archaeological site in the Astillero Mountains, Zacatecas State, in North-Central Mexico. It is located 2,740 metres (9000 feet) above sea level, and about 1 km higher than the valley below. The lithic artefacts discovered here have been dated to 26,000 years before present based on more than 50 samples of animal bone and charcoal found in association with the tools.

History of research

Excavations were started in 2012, when a test pit unearthed unusual stone artifacts. Further excavations were carried out in 2016 and 2017 under the leadership of Ciprian Ardelean of the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (Mexico).[1]

Discoveries

Archaeologists discovered about 2,000 stone tools used for cutting and chopping. 239 of these were embedded in layers of gravel that have been dated to 25,000-32,000 years ago through carbon dating. These items were at the depth of up to 3 meters.[2]

Other than the stone tools, relatively little evidence of human presence was found. Archaeologists believe that the site was visited only occasionally by bands of hunter-gatherers; perhaps it was used as a refuge during particularly severe weather. Evidence indicates that the cave was in use for approximately 16,000 years.[2]

DNA from a wide range of animals was found in the cave, including black bears, rodents, bats, voles and even kangaroo rats.

Context

According to the scientists involved in this research, recent investigations have uncovered good evidence of a human presence during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs also in other parts of Mexico. They refer to “the northwest region of Mexico, the Chiapas Highlands, Central Mexico, and the Caribbean coast”.

They also suggest that this new research pushes back “dates for human dispersal to the region possibly as early as 33,000–31,000 years ago”.[3]

Currently, there's is only one other site, Bluefish Caves, in Yukon, Canada, that has yielded dates similar to Chiquihuite.[2]

Criticism

In 2021, a team of researchers headed by Dr. David Kilby of Texas State University concluded that if the dating of the Chiquihuite site were accurate, the population present would have had to have been completely invisible to genetic studies and contributed no genes to ancestral Native Americans. Additionally, the potential artifacts were called into question, with Kilby suggesting that it was more likely they were the result of natural processes[4]

See also

Notes
  1. Brian Handwerk, Discovery in Mexican Cave May Drastically Change the Known Timeline of Humans’ Arrival to the Americas. JULY 22, 2020 SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
  2. Curry, Andrew (2020). "Were humans living in a Mexican cave during the last ice age?". Science. doi:10.1126/science.abd9583. ISSN 0036-8075.
  3. Ardelean, Ciprian F.; Becerra-Valdivia, Lorena; Pedersen, Mikkel Winther; Schwenninger, Jean-Luc; Oviatt, Charles G.; Macías-Quintero, Juan I.; Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquin; Sikora, Martin; Ocampo-Díaz, Yam Zul E.; Rubio-Cisneros, Igor I.; Watling, Jennifer G.; de Medeiros, Vanda B.; De Oliveira, Paulo E.; Barba-Pingarón, Luis; Ortiz-Butrón, Agustín; Blancas-Vázquez, Jorge; Rivera-González, Irán; Solís-Rosales, Corina; Rodríguez-Ceja, María; Gandy, Devlin A.; Navarro-Gutierrez, Zamara; De La Rosa-Díaz, Jesús J.; Huerta-Arellano, Vladimir; Marroquín-Fernández, Marco B.; Martínez-Riojas, L. Martin; López-Jiménez, Alejandro; Higham, Thomas; Willerslev, Eske (2020). "Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum". Nature. 584 (7819): 87–92. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2509-0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 32699412.
  4. Blaschke, Jayme. "Early Chiquihuite Cave 'artifacts' likely natural in origin". Texas State University. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

Bibliography
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