Chiquihuite Cave is a possible Upper Paleolithic archaeological site in the Astillero Mountains, Zacatecas State, in North-Central Mexico.
Chiquihuite Cave may be evidence of early human presence in the Western Hemisphere up to 33,000 years ago.
[2] However, there is scholarly debate over whether the stones are truly artifacts, human-made tools that are evidence of human presence, or if they were formed naturally.
[1] In addition to analyzing the stone artifacts, Ardelean's team used pollen analysis and DNA extractions to find if early humans had been present in the cave.
[1] DNA from a wide range of animals was found in the cave, including black bears,[7] rodents, bats, voles, and even kangaroo rats.
[8] If that is correct, Chiquihuite Cave serves as significant evidence that humans were adapted to living in high altitude mountainous areas much earlier than previously thought.
[1] According to the scientists involved in this research, recent investigations have uncovered good evidence of a human presence during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs in other parts of Mexico, too.
This new research pushes back “dates for human dispersal to the region possibly as early as 33,000–31,000 years ago”.
In 2021, a team of researchers headed by James Chatters of Central Washington University concluded that if the dating of the Chiquihuite site were accurate, the population present would have had to have been completely invisible to genetic studies and contributed no genes to ancestral Native Americans.
Additionally, the potential artifacts were called into question, with the researchers suggesting that they are likely geofacts created as the result of natural processes.