Sites Plundered in Largely Unexplored North : Archeologists Fear Loss of Treasures in Mexico

Clues to northern Mexico’s ancient past are lying undiscovered under layers of earth, gradually being lost to sackers, vandals and modernization, archeologists say.

“Northeastern Mexico is the largest blank on the archeological map on the continent,” said Breen Murray, an American anthropologist who teaches at the University of Monterrey in Nuevo Leon state.

Hundreds of thousands of Chichimecas --the name meaning “erratic ants” given to all northern peoples by the central cultures--once roamed this inhospitable region.

Although many surface studies have been done, the vast, diverse area stretching from Tamaulipas state on the Gulf of Mexico to Baja California on the Pacific Ocean remains Mexico’s biggest historical mystery.

Bones, Paintings Found

Archeologists who have studied the Tamaulipas-Nuevo Leon-Coahuila area south of Texas have found human bones, rock paintings, caves used for dwelling, basketry, crude jewelry and weapons that include arrowheads.

In Tamaulipas and in Sonora and Baja California in the northwest, archeologists discovered remains of temples, adobe houses and terraced hillside fortresses, indicating that not all northern tribes were barbaric wanderers.

Fernando Gonzalez Quintanilla, an archeologist in northeastern Nuevo Leon state, said few excavations have been done, without which the story will never be complete.

“If we want to find artifacts of the prehistoric people, we need to practice stratigraphy because the dust is still building day by day.”

Gonzalez Quintanilla and others studying “the Grand Chichimeca “ said they’re becoming more and more frustrated by the government’s lack of interest in the north and by the tremendous amount of sacking going on.

Less Attention

The Mexican government, said Gonzalez Quintanilla, “doesn’t give the north as much attention as it does the center and the south because here the people were considered culturally poor.”

The Meso-Americans, who found a paradise of temperate climates, lush tropical fruit, abundant water, game and rich forest land in the south, had the luxury of building great civilizations.

The majority of the Arid-Americans in Mexico’s north, however, were forced to lead isolated, nomadic lives because of severe climate, lack of food, water and building materials.

“The man of the north didn’t have time to fully develop a culture. The struggle was to find food, clothing and housing,” Gonzalez Quintanilla said.

One of the few exceptions is Casas Grandes, the remains of a major commercial and agricultural civilization dating back to the year 700 and the most important archeological site found in the six states that border the United States.

Major Discovery

“It’s the only one, really, that has been discovered in the north of this size and advancement,” said Eduardo Contreras, archeologist-in-residence at the site.

Here, in the desert of northern Chihuahua state, about 150 miles south of Columbus, N.M., a 75-acre portion of the city once known as Paquime was excavated through a joint project of the Mexican government and the Arizona-based Amerind Foundation.

“We’ve calculated the population here was more than 10,000 people,” Contreras said as he guided the way through the tiny doors connecting the former three-story, mud-and-gravel homes.

Ceremonial grounds, a ball court, a still for making sotol liquor and, most impressive, an aqueduct system that ran through the buildings also have helped unlock the mystery of the peace-loving people who made this place their home.

But even this site has not been fully studied.

“Remains have been discovered of adults, but one of the enigmas is where is the cemetery for the children,” Contreras said.

Fate Unknown

About the year 1340, the city was burned and abandoned, “but nobody knows where they went,” he said.

Nearly every site in the north has been hit by sackers, the archeologists said.

“It’s impossible to estimate the loss to robberies each year,” Contreras said.

Poor campesinos who sell artifacts in order to feed their families are responsible for some of the losses, and because the zones lack vigilance, tourists often walk off with items they find lying around.

Despite a 1976 federal protection law that stipulates a 10-year jail term for sacking, bands of professional thieves still run lucrative businesses, often selling the prized goods in the United States.

The construction for roads, railroads, housing developments and dams has destroyed thousands of acres of relics because, Gonzalez Quintanilla said, “the government has not instructed crew leaders to inform authorities when they dig up bones or other artifacts.”

Peasants ignorant of the relics’ value often destroy precious items when building houses or they allow others to carry them off.