An underwater cave preserves an ancient ochre mine | Science News

Floating through the eerie depths of a submerged cave system on the Yucatán Peninsula, divers recovered evidence that ancient people dug up deposits of the red pigment as early as 12,000 years ago when the chambers were dry. The findings make this the oldest known ochre mine in the Americas.

Read more: https://www.sciencenews.org/ar....ticle/underwater-cav

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Bruce Bower

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Helen Thompson

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Sam Meacham/Fred Devos/Cindaq.org
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“Ice Climb” by Podington Bear (CC BY-NC 3.0)
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Citation
B. McDonald et al. Paleoindian ochre mines in the submerged caves of the Yucatán Peninsula, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Science Advances. Vol. 6, July 3, 2020, p. eaba1219. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba1219.