HOYO NEGRO

A Submerged Late Pleistocene Cave Site in Quintana Roo

Hoyo Negro is a project of the Subdirección de Arqueología Subacuática del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia

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HOYO NEGRO

The cenotes and underwater cave systems of the Yucatan Peninsula are emerging as one of the most promising frontiers for Paleoamerican studies. Following the end of the last glacial maximum, rising sea levels flooded the region’s maze of underground passageways and preserved a diverse Late Pleistocene fossil assemblage. A female human skeleton, named "Naia," found in spatial association with the remains of now-extinct fauna in the submerged subterranean pit of Hoyo Negro presents a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary Paleoamerican and paleoenvironmental research in Quintana Roo, Mexico. At 13,000-12,000 years BP, the young woman’s skeleton represents the oldest nearly complete individual yet found in the Americas.

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NEWS + EVENTS

June 15, 2023

Hoyo Negro Project awarded Best Practices Distinction by UNESCO

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August 9, 2021

Drain the Oceans - National Geographic Channel

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June 17, 2020

Tiny Lecture: Virtual Access to the Ice Age - Dr. Dominique Rissolo

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June 11, 2020

Diving for the Bones of the Ice Age

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May 1, 2019

Prehistoric predator fossils found in an underwater cave in Mexico

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PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

Subdireccion de Arqueologia Subacuatica, INAH
Centro INAH Quintana Roo
Seccion de Restauracion del Centro INAH Campeche
Museo Nacional de Antropologia
Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative, UC San Diego
Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
Qualcomm Institute, UC San Diego
East Tennessee State University
Northwestern University
McMaster University
MedVizi, LLC
Bay Area Underwater Explorers
CINDAQ
National Geographic Society, Expeditions Council
DirectAMS
Brian Strauss and the Strauss Family Fund
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Archaeological Institute of America
Waitt Foundation
Anders Family Foundation
Zero Gravity Dive Center
Acuatic Tulum Dive Center
ProTec Dive Center
Halcyon Dive Systems
Bone Clones, Inc.
Marcia Kirby and Akumal Direct
Elizabeth and Steven Bluhm
James Connor
Nikolaos Dunbar
William Halligan
Susan Harris
Glenn Kawasaki
Charlie and Jackie Mann
Ann Pinsky
Megan Richards
Nancy Sorensen
Peter Way
Tom Wolken
SPECIAL THANKS
Katia Andreassi
Mark Bauman
Scott Blair
Adrienne Bolli
Leanne Chukoskie
Francis Cordero
Tiffany Fox
Ana Galicia
Terry Garcia
Joaquin Garcia Barcena
Evan Hadingham
Corly Huang
Gibran Huerta
Jared Lipworth
Robert Lourie
Rebecca Martin
Adriana Velazquez Morlet
Trent Simmons
Graham Townsley