Chiquihuite Cave

Record summary

Chiquihuite Cave is a high-elevation cave in northern-central Mexico where excavators reported stone artifacts and dates suggesting human presence during the Last Glacial Maximum or earlier. The claim attracted wide attention because it would substantially predate accepted widespread settlement chronologies. Critics have questioned whether the unusual stones are artifacts, whether some dates derive from redeposited material, and how the cave sequence was formed. The site is a valuable comparison lead for evaluating extraordinary early-date claims when artifact morphology and stratigraphic context are contested.