Prehistoric ochre mining operation found in submerged Mexican caves [View all]

JULY 3, 2020 / 1:06 PM / UPDATED 14 HOURS AGO

Will Dunham
3 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers diving into dark submerged caves on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula have found evidence of an ambitious mining operation starting 12,000 years ago and lasting two millennia for red ochre, an earth mineral pigment prized by prehistoric peoples.

More than 100 dives totaling more than 600 hours in Quintana Roo state turned up numerous mining artifacts, the scientists said on Friday. These included ochre extraction pits, digging tools like hammerstones and small piledrivers made of stalagmites, markers that helped the miners navigate the extensive cave network and hearths used to provide light. The caves were not underwater at the time of the mining.

The mining was undertaken as human populations first spread through the region. The caves subsequently were abandoned for millennia before becoming submerged roughly 8,000 years ago amid rising sea levels after the last Ice Age.

Researchers previously had found human skeletons in the caves but had not identified why people were there.

More:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-science-caves/prehistoric-ochre-mining-operation-found-in-submerged-mexican-caves-idUKKBN2442EM