It is a historic day for Mexican archeology, for the municipality of Victoria, for Guanajuato, for the institution that I lead and for Mexico, since with the opening of the archaeological site of cave paintings Arroyo Seco, the collaboration between the different levels of government, the institutions and the community is shown,” said the director general of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Diego Prieto Hernández.
In the opening ceremony, held in the municipality of Victoria, Guanajuato, the anthropologist stressed that it is a work that has been developing for more than 10 years under the collaboration model, which has allowed the opening of several other archaeological sites in the state of Guanajuato, like Plazuelas, in the municipality of Pénjamo; Peralta, in Abasolo; Cañada de la Virgen, in San Miguel Allende, and El Cóporo, in Ocampo; and soon the Cerro de los Remedios, in Comonfort.
He explained that it is a work of many years, initiated by Ana Crespo and retaken by Carlos Viramontes. “That is why it is important to be aware of the other functions of INAH, Besides the administration of the 190 archaeological zones and 121 museums, INAH also rescues world heritage archaeological discoveries”.
It is a work that has been developing for more than 10 years.
Prieto explained that other tasks of INAH have to do with investigation, and that behind the project presented today there is an enormous amount of work.
“Another of the labors of the institute,” he said, is the conservation of this heritage, “which is carried out in collaboration with the municipalities and states, with the intention that new generations can continue to enjoy and appreciate this legacy, which is why fencing of the area is essential, the recovery of the lands and the elaboration of a plan of management of the site, that will allow that the archaeological zone to be self sustainable”.
At the event, the governor of Guanajuato, Miguel Márquez Márquez, stated that the archaeological site, which opens to the public, is a heritage of Mexicans for the world, as it is the third site of this nature that is opens in the country.
He stressed that this legacy shows the world view of the cultures that lived there, expressing their own conception of what surrounded them, it is essential to know about our past in order to understand the present.
Subsequently, the head of INAH gave the governor of Guanajuato the Development and Operation Plan of the Arroyo Seco Archaeological Zone, as an endorsement of the common commitment between the institution and the state government, to care for, disseminate and enjoy this important archaeological zone featuring cave paintings.
A commemorating plaque was unveiled the opening of the site.
Arroyo Seco is made up of a plain and two small natural elevations of outstanding landscape value, where the pictorial groups are located that give it its heritage value and that distinguish it as one of the most important concentrations of ancestral art in the country. And it is one of the few places with this type of art in the center of the country and the only one in Guanajuato.
Source: milenio.com
