The first finding of incipient agriculture for the state of Nuevo Leon (Mexico), practiced by collectors-hunters, such as seeds, corncobs and corn leaves which are calculated to date back to 3500 or 3000 BC, was registered by investigators from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) of said entity.

“In Nuevo Leon we had not identified any archaeological site with this type of evidence. After two seasons in El Morro, municipality of Aramberri, we recovered approximately a million corncobs and fragments of these”, said Ph.D. Araceli Rivera Estrada, investigator for the INAH Center in the entity.

Araceli Rivera pointed out the importance of this finding since “proof that nomadic collectors-hunters of the region had been around since the Arcaic period. This will lead us to reevaluate the categories in which indigenous groups south of the state are designated”.

The investigator explained that the eldest registry of the three main crops domesticated in Mexico (corn, pumpkin and beans) originate from caves excavated in the 50’s and 60’s: Romero and Valenzuela, close to Ocampo (Tamaulipas); Coxcatlan and San Marcos, in the valley of Tehuacan (Puebla) and Guila Naquitz (oaxaca), with antiquities that date back from 7 thousand to 3 thousand years before Christ.

The INAH specialist added that the investigation took place in a small rocky shelter located in El Morro, Nuevo Leon, which contains abundant cave paintings, not only in the main wall of the entry, but also in several huge stones outside the shelter. The figures in the paintings represent anthropomorphic and zoomorphic creatures, among others.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: The Archaeology News Network: Proto-agricultural activity found in Mexican rock shelter.