The director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Diego Prieto, informed that archeological remains were found near the Santa Lucía airbase, which President López Obrador plans to expand and turn into a civilian airport. This after scouting the area with a team of experts.
However, the social anthropologist from the National College of Anthropology and History did not reveal the results of the inspection, though he did propose a few actions to prevent damage to Mexico’s cultural heritage.
“There are remains everywhere. We’ve already conducted some expeditions. We will be in charge of prospecting and investigate the sites. The fact that there are historic remains does not mean that a project of this magnitude cannot be undertaken, it just means that we need to promote an archeological rescue before the construction works begin,” he said.
“If the remains are movable objects such as vases, obsidian materials, or camp remains, we need to rescue, recover, and study them in laboratories. If there are structures that, due to their nature, are better left unmoved, we should find a way to rescue them on site. If this entails a few modifications to the airport project, so be it. We are not against public works, all we ask is for the government to recognize the importance of protecting our heritage and history,” the INAH expert claimed.
Prieto spoke about the airport terrain at the end of a session to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Mexico’s INAH in the House of Representatives, where he added that the institute was working on a protocol to rescue archeological remains in Santa Lucía long before the airport project came to light.
Regarding the culture that the remains belong to, Diego Prieto preferred not to specify an ethnic group yet, though he said that they might be Tlahuicas, Mexicas, Otomí, or even other more ancient groups such as the Teotihuacanos or Tlalicas.
“There could also be remains that date back to pre-historic nomad groups. We don’t know yet. That’s why the proper archaeological studies need to be conducted,” he stated.
Source: https://www.eluniversal.com.mx
