Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have discovered and recorded rock art in forty sites in northeastern Guanajuato, Mexico. The relics, many of which date back to the 1st century, A.D., came to light through the Rupestral Art Project of the Victoria River Basin, which was developed by INAH experts and directed by archaeologist Carlos Viramontes.
The oldest images refer to rites of passage, healing, prayers for rain and mountain worship. These paintings, with yellow, red and black as the predominant colors, generally represent human figures. Paintings of deer, dogs, centipedes, spiders and birds, generally with their wings outspread, have also been discovered, and radiating circles which represent the sun,
Some of their art depicts humans with three fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot. In one painting, a non-human figure in yellow, with red pectorals accompanies a man. Some suggest they were created or inspired by aliens.
Only trained persons, shamans and healers, were allowed to paint scenes and others in the community interpreted. These artists were doing more than recording village life- they painted portals, magical points of contact between the material and spiritual world.
The people who lived here, who performed rituals and observed the movement of the celestial bodies, recording astrological phenomena as well as ephemeral events in paintings, were Chichimeca. Their language family was Otomi. They were the people of the dog, which was a sacred animal.
I went, as part of an informal gathering, with a group of twenty to see the rock paintings. We were not allowed in, as excavations were underway. We were allowed to picnic on the grounds, but not to visit the sacred mountain of Arroyo Seco.
This site is 144 kilometers east of the capital Guanajuato, in an underdeveloped region away from federal roads. It is near the village of Victoria, formerly known as Xichú de Indios.
Arroyo Seco has a magical character. I gleaned that there is a sense of the primeval worship of stone and mountain as living beings. The stone face at the entrance to the caves is referred to as the guardians. These impressive rock formations look like elongated people in an El Greco painting. Visitors are wise to pay tribute, leaving offerings in the cavities of the earth. There are also carvings, as part of stellar alignments; they are directly related to observation of astrological phenomena
The drive from San Miguel de Allende to Arroyo Seco is breathtakingly beautiful. High steep mountains and deep cuts of canyons proffer panoramic views. There is a vertiginous descent amidst mesas and mountain face into a verdant valley. The terrain is comprised of trajectories of rock face- black, brown, and deep clay reds, creating a labyrinth which leads to chartreuse agricultural lands fed by streams.
When we arrived, archaeologists were working with trowels and brushes in three areas conducting careful excavations. Pieces of crude tools, arrow head chips, and what looked like hatchet blades and kitchen utensils were set aside.
Some of the archaeologists and “park rangers” took time out to join our picnic. They graciously shared information about the area, including the fact that one is supposed to procure a permit in order to visit.
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Christine Maynard has worked as a stringer for the New York Times, in new product development for numerous industries, for Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, as a yoga teacher... She now lives in San Miguel de Allende.
