The results discovered at Hueyatlaco remain controversial even today.
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The Hueyatlaco and the Enigmatic Traces of Early Man
The Valsequillo Basin is located near the city of Puebla, in Mexico. Situated in the central part of the country, this basin has been the focus of much interest for geologists, archaeologists and the scientific world as a whole. This interest was sparked due to the presence of numerous megafaunal remains and evidence of very early human habitation. Megafauna, as we know, is the term commonly used for large animals that roamed the landscapes of the Pleistocene, such as mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and cave lions. However, although rich in important discoveries, the site has always been the cause of much controversy, simply because some of the theories surrounding it are very hard to fully grasp.
It has been proposed that the landscapes of the Early Pleistocene period were characterized by many deep lakes, and that this basin might once have been one such lake. However, no direct proof for this ever surfaced and dating has proven quite difficult for scholars. Nevertheless, the area is of immense geological interest due to it being dominated by the stratovolcanoes Popocatépetl and La Malinche, and its location in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. As such, this is a site with a time-worn history, which also helps shed some light on early human habitation of the region, because geology and archaeology often go hand in hand.
Some of the first excavations at Hueyatlaco were carried out in 1961, when professor Cynthia Irwin-Williams conducted an extensive dig at the site. Even before she arrived, the region was known as a place rich in animal fossils, which sparked the interest of scholars. Irwin-Williams was soon joined by other prominent persons of the U.S. Geological Survey, notably Virginia Steen-McIntyre, who was responsible for publicizing the find and the magnificent discoveries it entailed. Due to the vast numbers of animal fossils, it was commonly believed that this site was a kill site, where ancient humans butchered the animals they hunted.
The countless animal remains were located in fluviatile deposits commonly known as Valsequillo gravels, which were often plain and exposed in the high cliff sides of the Valsequillo Reservoir. Some of the ancient animal fossils found included bison, camel, dire wolf, peccary, short-faced bear, sloth, horse, tapir, mammoth, saber-toothed cat, mastodon, glyptodon, four-horned antelope, and several other species. But the really important finds were made in 1962, when Irwin-Williams discovered both animal bones and stone tools, together, in situ. The subsequent struggle to positively identify the age of these remains led to much controversy.
During excavations at Hueyatlaco in Mexico, Cynthia Irwin-Williams discovered animal bones, fossils and stone tools together. The dating of these remains has created unending controversy.
( Erica Guilane-Nachez / Adobe Stock)
The tools that were discovered included some very crude and primitive implements, but also tools that were much more sophisticated, with double edges and detailed flaking construction. These tools were diverse and included quite elaborate projectile points, many of which were made from non-local materials. This was a clear proof that Hueyatlaco was used by various groups of people for a long period of time. Either way, these findings were quickly pushing back the previously believed timeline of human habitation in South America, which caused conflicts in the scientific world.
Very early on in the excavations, attempts were made to discredit the work done at Hueyatlaco, and some turned out to be blatant attacks on the work. Someone seemingly had a problem with the idea that South America was inhabited so much earlier than was commonly believed. In 1967, Jose Lorenzo, a member of the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, came forth with a controversial claim that the artifacts discovered were deliberately planted at the site, in a way that made it difficult to know whether they were actually discovered. This gossip was seemingly unmerited and looked a lot like an attempt to disrupt the crew from making further claims at the site.
What is more, the suspicious activities did not stop here. Irwin-Williams did make a startling discovery of mammoth bone fragments that were carved with intricate images, depicting various megafauna animals such as serpents and saber-toothed cats. Similar carved images have been discovered all over the world, and are associated with early man. However, these carved bones disappeared under puzzling circumstances, as if someone didn’t want them to reach the public eye. Photographs of the carvings survive.
Stigmatized Because of the Truth Because of Hueyatlaco Results
By 1969, Irwin-Williams sought support in the scientific community, and gained support from three renowned scholars who visited the site of the excavations and confirmed that everything was being conducted in a professional manner. During that same year, the team published their first scientific paper that detailed the excavations and the importance of the site. And that importance was the age .
Various methods for dating the finds were utilized, many of which were revolutionary for the time. The usual radiocarbon dating indicated that the remains were roughly 35,000 years old. However, dating by uranium suggested the remains to be far older, roughly 260,000 years old. At the time, these results were considered an anomaly, especially due to the fact that general science proposed a general time of 16,000 years before present for the settling of the Americas.
Some suggested that the strata (or geological layers) were eroded by ancient waterways, and that might have mixed up the specimens, and causing such differing results. By 1973, scientists returned to Hueyatlaco, hoping to conduct new excavations and attempt to once more examine the layers and to resolve the oddities of dating the finds. However, their research concluded that the layers were not eroded and that specimens were not mixed up.
What is more, this new team managed to analyze volcanic ash from the site and apply the revolutionary zircon fission track dating method. Through this geochemistry approach, they determined that the volcanic ash - discovered in the same layer as the tools - was roughly between 370,000 and 240,000 years old. This confirmed the extremely old age of human habitation at the site, and further deepened the enigma that was Hueyatlaco.
Post continues at: https://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-science/hueyatlaco-00616
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