Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla

Site information

• Official name: Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca
• Location: Oaxaca, Mexico
• Type: Cultural
• Year of inscription: 2010

The prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla are located in the Central Valley of Oaxaca in the northern part of the Tlacolula Valley of Mexico. These prehistoric caves provide a clear portrait of human evolution that covers a period that some scientists believe can be traced to a period spanning the years between 8000 and 6500 BCE. Scientists believe that the caves were occupied by different groups on six distinct occasions. The history of the caves showcases the evolution of humans from hunting and gathering to early efforts at farming. Scientists have found evidence that this is the first area in the Americans in which crops were domesticated. Covering a total area of 1,515.17 hectares, the people who lived in the prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla some eight thousand to ten thousand years ago are believed to have laid the necessary groundwork for the development of the Mesoamerican culture. The first traces of prehistoric farming are most evident at Guilá Naquitz, which lies between the cities of Yagul and Mitla. It is in Guilá Naquitz that experts have found Cucurbitaceae seeds believed to be around ten thousand years old, suggesting that the cave is the first evidence of crop cultivation in the Americas. They have also found relics of corn cobs.

History

The prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla retain traces of acorns, pinyon, cactus fruits, and hackberries. However, it is the traces of bottle gourds, squash, and beans that suggest cultivated farming rather than traditional gathering. Within Cueva Blanca and Gheo Shih, scientists have unearthed evidence of Pleistocene animals, summer fruits, and stone tools. The Cucurbitaceae seeds found in Guilá Naquitz come from varieties of melons, gourds, and squash.

In the area of Oaxaca, archaeologists have uncovered a group of complexes, caves, and shelters in which prehistoric people lived ten thousand years ago. The Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1987. The Spanish arrived in Oaxaca in the sixteenth century, and subsequent European settlement forced local populations from their homes. However, seventeen indigenous groups still live in the area, comprising one-third of the total population of Oaxaca. Monte Albán is considered to be of great significance because it served as the capital of the Zapotec civilization, although it declined in cultural significance around 7 CE. Both Yagul and Mitla were also significant cities for the Zapotec, but they have not been given the attention that Monte Albán has enjoyed.

As Monte Albán declined in importance, Yagul became more significant, and it served as the capital of Oaxaca. In the late post-classical period, Yagul boasted a population of approximately sixty-three hundred people. Some of Yagul's buildings have yet to be excavated. Those that have been excavated show the council hall, ball courts, and structures that were used as temples, plazas, and altars. Mitla was significant primarily for religious reasons. Subsequently, it became the capital of the Mixtec population that flourished in the area in pre-Aztec and Aztec times. The walls of the early civilization still stand, embellished in geometric patterns that are also found in the pottery, clothing, and rugs of the area. Evidences of ceremonial buildings also still exist. The caves of Guilá Naquitz and Cueva Blanca are both located near Mitla.

Scientific exploration of Yagul began in 1954. In the 1960s, American archaeologist Kevin V. Flannery arrived in Yagul and Mitla, where he discovered four prehistoric sites at Guilá Naquitz, Cueva Blanca, the Martinez rock shelter, and Gheo Shih. In all, there were 147 caves. Signs of early civilization were discovered in Guilá Naquitz, Cueva Blanca, and Gheo Shih. Some of the relics from his explorations are on public view at the Museum of Culture in Oaxaca. Scholars at the University of Michigan became interested in the area, and began a decade-long study of the ecology of the area in 1970. It was not until 1996 that botanists began conducting a thorough examination of evidence of early plant life in the area, and the National Institute of Anthropology and History launched major research into the caves. Five years later, new caves were found. Knowledge of the area has also been enhanced through the efforts of the Smithsonian Institution, which used accelerator mass spectrometry and radiocarbon to pinpoint the chemical makeup of agricultural relics found in the caves and link them to specific historical periods.

The Management Plan for the Oaxaca Valley Archaeology Corridor was implemented in 1999, and Monte Albán has protection under the Monte Albán Architectural Zone Management Plant. Protection for Yagul is provided by presidential decree. However, the architecture and landscape of the area have not been given legal protection by either the national or local governments. Management is chiefly the responsibility of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, and the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas handles scenic conservation.

Significance

The prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla were inscribed as a World Heritage Site because they are considered to meet the standards for Criteria iii, which is based on their representing human evolution from the hunting and gathering stage to the early agricultural stage. Evidence of agricultural advancement has been proved through scientific examination of seed lengths and peduncle (stalk) diameters. This evidence is of major importance because it indicates that indigenous people of the Americas were farming four thousand years earlier than originally thought. Evidence of human evolution that follows a pattern similar to that found in Yagul and Mitla has also been discovered in other parts of the world, offering support for the theory that this was a common evolutionary pattern among prehistoric people.

The major caves of Yagul and Mitla are the Romero and Valenzuela caves found near Tamaulipas, the Coxcatlah and San Marcos caves located in Tehuacán Puebla, and the Guilá Naquitz cave, which is considered to be the most important. Relics found in Guilá Naquitz are considered to be in a good state of preservation, and relics of maize, beans, and squash found there were originally estimated to be seven thousand to ten thousand years old. Subsequent exploration has located layers of relics, and the top layer has been dated to the late classical period. In the four lower levels of the caves, scientists have discovered indications that residence in the cave was seasonal for the people who lived there from September through November 85,000 to 10,500 years ago.

Estimates of the cultivation of corn have also changed as a result of new evidence. It was originally thought that maize cultivation began sixty-three hundred years ago, but newer research estimates the first cultivation at eight hundred years earlier. Research on maize fragments found in Guilá Naquitz suggests that it was there that maize was first cultivated anywhere in the Americas. The major threats to preservation of the prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla are derived from the impact of climate change and the local practice of overgrazing.

Bibliography

Feinman, Gary M., and Linda Manzanilla, editors. Cultural Evolution: Contemporary Viewpoints. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2000.

Hammond, Norman. "The Early History of American Agriculture: Recent Research and Current Controversy." Biological Sciences, vol. 275, no. 936, 1976, pp. 120–28.

Higelin Ponce de León, Ricardo, and Guy David Hepp. "Talking with the Dead from Southern Mexico: Tracing Bioarchaeological Foundations and New Perspectives in Oaxaca." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 23 Nov. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.10.003.

Lind, Michael. Ancient Zapotec Religion: An Ethnohistorical and Archaeological Perspective. UP of Colorado, 2015.

Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca. World Heritage List. World Heritage Cultural Centre, UNESCO, 2016. whc.unesco.org/en/list/1352.

Smith, Bruce D. "The Initial Domestication of Cucurbita Pepo in the Americas 10,000 Years Ago." Science, vol. 276, no. 5314, 1997, pp. 932–34.