Researchers make amazing discovery in an underwater cave in Mexico: “It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”
Beneath the Yucatan Peninsula are a series of flooded caves that are revealing secrets about human presence in the area from prehistoric times.
Researchers have been discovering prehistoric skeleton remains of early human inhabitants of the Americas in the cenotes, flooded limestone caves, of the Yucatan Peninsula over the past three decades. Their location deep inside the water-filled caves means that they had to have come to rest there more than 8,000 years ago when the caves were dry.
These are some of the oldest human remains that have been discovered in North America. One of the prehistoric skeletons named ‘Naia’, which was discovered in 2007, died some 13,000 years ago after falling nearly 100 feet down a dark shaft.
Recently, an eleventh skeleton was discovered over 600 feet from the cave entrance roughly 26 feet below the surface. Octavio del Río made the find along with others in 2025. The cave-diving archaeologist carries out his research in cooperation with the National Institute of Anthropology and History.
He explained that the bones could not have gotten there any time other than at least 8,000 years ago. In order to access and work at the location of the skeletal remains specialized diving equipment is needed.
What were humans doing in the caves?
It is believed that humans used the caves in some cases as shelter and protection from prehistoric predators as well as sources of water. But that didn’t fully explain why they would risk going so deep in the caves.
More recently, ocher mines have been discovered. This natural red earth pigment composed of clay, sand, and ferric oxide was highly prized by ancient humans for coloring hair, skin, and hides as well as painting.
In the case of this latest skeleton del Río believes it was placed there as part of a funeral ritual. “It’s fascinating, isn’t it?” del Río commented about the discovery.
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