Ensenada, BC., The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and representatives of the company Energía Costa Azul (ECA) reported that they discovered archaeological remains dating from 5,500 to 1,300 years, until now, the oldest that have been have been found in the Baja California peninsula.
These are 16 prehistoric human burials, two cremations and the remains of two canines accompanied by seashells, products for human consumption, characteristic of these nomadic and semi-nomadic groups belonging to the La Jolla and Yumana pre-Columbian cultures.
The discovery, derived from an agreement signed by the institute and the natural gas company, was verified in the town of Costa Azul-Rancho San Nicolás, 30 kilometers north of Ensenada.
Regarding the burials, the experts specified that eight were in a flexed position in ventral decubitus (upside down), which had not been documented in the northwestern area of Baja California; while, of the remaining eight, three were flexed in lateral decubitus (sideways), two were semiflexed, and three were indeterminate. It was announced that in the short term osteological analyzes will be carried out that will shed light on the age, gender, pathologies and other data of the skeletons.
The federal Ministry of Culture, through the INAH, affirmed that its record enriches the knowledge of funerary practices, since there is a new pattern: the eight face-down skeletons are in an unprecedented position, unlike the ancient known customs of the culture. in La Jolla, which extended from northern Baja California to the southern coast of the state, in a period ranging from 8,000 to 1,300 years ago.
Of this find, 14 skeletons are adults and two are children, buried near domestic areas; some were covered with stones and antiquities dating back to the Middle Archaic period (5,500 to 1,300 years before present) and Late Prehistory (between the 8th and 18th centuries).
The findings were documented by a team of 11 archaeologists and 48 workers led by Rubén García and Gengis Ovilla, who have excavated 24 camps since July 2020.