Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca World Heritage Site

Official name

Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca | UNESCO

Country

Mexico | Map

Continent

North America

Location

16.9508° Lat, -96.4211° Lon | Map

Code

1352

Time Zone

America/Mexico_City (CST, -0600)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2010. This property lies on the northern slopes of the Tlacolula valley in subtropical central Oaxaca and consists of two pre-Hispanic archaeological complexes and a series of pre-historic caves and rock shelters. Some of these shelters provide archaeological and rock-art evidence for the progress of nomadic hunter-gathers to incipient farmers. Ten thousand-year-old Cucurbitaceae seeds in one cave, Guilá Naquitz, are considered to be the earliest known evidence of domesticated plants in the continent, while corn cob fragments from the same cave are said to be the earliest documented evidence for the domestication of maize. The cultural landscape of the Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla demonstrates the link between man and nature that gave origin to the domestication of plants in North America, thus allowing the rise of Mesoamerican civilizations.