Los hallazgos de La Mina, México

Stacks of rocks and broken speleothems—stalactites or stalagmites—mark the way through the ancient ocher mine of La Mina.

Ancient miners dug pits to extract the ocher from beneath the cave floor at La Mina. The deep red undersides of discarded rocks reveal the prized pigment material they were after.

A diver collects charcoal from fires that once illuminated the cavern of La Mina as the miners worked. The cave ceilings still bear dark traces from soot rising from the flames.

The miners used some of the broken speleothems as hammers to break through the cave floor of La Mina and extract ocher.

Humans have used ocher for hundreds of thousands of years for a variety of ritual and practical purposes. The mine at La Mina offers a rare peek into these past activities.