Cueva de la Olla (archaeological site)

Cueva de la Olla (transl. cave of the pot) is an archaeological site located in the Valle de las Cuevas in the northwest of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is approximately 47 km southwest of Nuevo Casas Grandes and is near the Ignacio Zaragoza Ejido. This site received its name because it has a shape similar to that of a pot (known as an olla in Spanish) or vase. It is a Cuexcomate, or large barn-like facility. Similar granaries were once located in scattered caves sites of the Sierra Madre Occidental. This site is one of the oldest in Chihuahua and Mexico. The Valle de las Cuevas contains a site where a sequence of human occupation has been detected. Human groups that lived in the region used a maize ancestor variety in approximately 5500 BCE. Due to the winter, there was the need to store food; hence, those living in the area built a barn, which can still be seen despite deterioration.