Scientists Uncover 10,000-Year-Old Ocher Mines Preserved in Underwater Mexican Caves

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Scientists have uncovered the world’s oldest known ocher mines submerged in a cave in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, according to a study released July 3.

Divers from Mexico’s Quintana Roo Aquifer System Research Center (CINDAQ) and Canada’s McMaster University made the discovery during the course of nearly 100 dives over more than 600 hours.

The search saw explorers navigate a network spanning 7,000 meters of flooded subterranean passages in three cave systems.

This footage shows dive teams taking samples in the underwater caves and interviews with researchers.

Scientists said their research, published July 3 in the journal Science Advances, has provided the first look into human activity in these preserved mining sites – including ocher extraction beds and pits, digging tools, shattered debris, navigational markers, and fire pits – over a period ranging from 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

“The elaborate cave passages were once dry, but as sea levels rose most of the caves were flooded by about 8,000 years ago, creating the ideal conditions to preserve human activities,” CINDAQ said in a statement.

“These underwater caves are a time capsule. With all the tools left as they were 10,000 to 12,000 years ago,” said Eduard Reinhardt, expert diver and professor at the School of Geography & Earth Sciences at McMaster University. "It represents a unique learning opportunity. It took advanced expertise to work in the caves recovering ocher, so we know it was very valuable for the earliest peoples of the Americas.” Credit: CINDAQ.ORG via Storyful