Mexico Discovers Eight Archeological Sites in Baja Xinhua
go to original May 29, 2013

Archaeologists from Mexico's National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, explore one of the eight archaeological sites discovered in the Sierra del Mayor mountains in the state of Baja California. (EFE/INAH)

Eight archeological sites of native American Cucapa culture were discovered in the northern Colorado desert, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said this week.

After three years of exploration with the help of indigenous Cucapa people, eight temporary camps, dating back to 400 to 7,000 years ago, were discovered in the mountains of Sierra del Mayor south of Mexicali city on the Mexico-US border.

As the excavation proceeded, experts found hundreds of animal bones - some of them from extinct species - as well as pottery and stone pieces. They also found places where iron oxide, which was used as body pigment and wall paint, was extracted.

Five to seven small corrals were found in each camp, indicating several families had temporarily lived there, archeologist Antonio Porcayo Michelini said.

The Cucapa people are one of the four ethnic Yuman-speaking groups. They are originally from Baja California in northwest Mexico, and have been living there for at least 2,000 years, as indicated by their linguistic roots, Porcayo said.

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!