Pendejo Cave facts for kids

Pendejo Cave is a special cave and archaeological site in southern New Mexico. It's about 20 miles east of Orogrande. An archaeologist named Richard S. MacNeish believed that people lived in this cave many thousands of years before the Clovis Culture. The Clovis Culture was traditionally thought to be one of the oldest groups in the Americas.

What is Pendejo Cave Like?

Pendejo Cave is not very big. It is about 5 meters (16 feet) wide and 12 meters (39 feet) deep. At its highest point, it reaches about 3 meters (10 feet) tall. The cave is located below the edge of a cliff, facing north. It sits about 50 meters (164 feet) above the canyon floor. The cave is at an elevation of about 1,490 meters (4,888 feet). It is surrounded by the dry plants of the Chihuahua Desert. However, a slightly wetter area can be found at the bottom of the cliffs.

Discovering the Past at Pendejo Cave

Pendejo Cave was first found in 1978. Twelve years later, in early 1990, the first group of archaeologists started digging there. This team was led by Richard S. MacNeish. Another dig happened one year later, in late winter and early spring of 1991.

Tools and Artifacts Found

During the excavations, archaeologists found tools from the Clovis period, which was around 11,000 BCE (about 13,000 years ago). They also found tools from later Native American groups. Some of the items discovered included stone tools like shavers and flakes used for cutting. They also found several tools made from bone. One was a bone awl, which is a pointed tool, made from a horse's shoulder blade. Another was a knife made from a rib bone.

MacNeish's Claims of Early Human Life

MacNeish believed he found even older Native American tools in the cave. He said he found 111 chipped stone tools in three different layers of the cave. He thought the oldest of these tools might be as old as 75,000 years! MacNeish named these older layers, from oldest to newest: Orogrande, McGregor, and North Mesa.

Debate Among Archaeologists

By 2004, many archaeologists did not agree with the very old dates MacNeish suggested for the human tools. They agreed that animal bones found in the cave were very old, possibly 55,000 years old. However, they questioned if the stone tools were truly made by humans and if they were that ancient.

Later, in 2015, a scientist named William Farrand reviewed a book by MacNeish and Libby. Farrand noted that the book had a lot of detailed information. He suggested that it was hard to ignore the idea that people lived in the American Southwest even before the Clovis culture, possibly as far back as 37,000 or 55,000 years ago.

See also

In Spanish: Cueva del Pendejo para niños