Three 2,500-year-old burials with various grave goods have been discovered in a cave in northeastern Mexico.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said in a translated statement that analysis of the skeletal remains revealed that two of the victims were young adults and one was an infant. statement. Remains of basketry, textiles and textiles were found next to the bodies, suggesting the deceased may have been buried in bundles made of these materials in what is now Mexico’s Nuevo Leon state, the statement said. That was a clue.
The body was found dismembered and may have been ritually dismembered. However, detailed osteological analysis was not performed.
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The dead were also buried with beads made from freshwater shells, some of which were produced 186 miles (300 kilometers) east toward the Gulf of Mexico. Moises Valadez MorenoINAH archaeologists who excavated the site told LiveScience in an email that they also found seeds, spear points, and plant remains.
According to the statement, the human bones are believed to be between 3,000 and 2,500 years old. This period includes what archaeologists sometimes refer to as Mexico’s “Preclassic” period. During this period, historians write, the people living in northern Mexico engaged in long-distance trade and practiced a variety of lifestyles, including hunting, gathering, and growing crops. alfredo lopez austin and leonardo lopez lujan In their book,Mexico’s indigenous past(University of Oklahoma Press, 2001).
The relationship between the three people found in the cave is still unknown. Osteological and DNA studies would need to be done to determine this, Valadez-Moreno said. He said the proximity of the bodies and the location of the same soil layer suggests the three may have died around the same time. It is not clear how the three people died, but further analysis could help clarify, Valadez-Moreno said.
Excavations in the cave began in 2003 and since then, around 30,000 artifacts and ecofacts have been discovered, INAH said in a statement.