This blurry gray photo I took of a raggedy corn husk in the bottom of a dark cave is why I came to the Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca UNESCO world heritage site. It is fossilized and may be 10,000 years old. A similar one was found in a nearby cave and dated back that far, with other evidence proving that this is the oldest known agricultural settlement in the Americas. Many people visit Oaxaca’s colorful markets, delicious restaurants, gorgeous cathedral, and take much better photos, but I think they’re missing an important site here, an easy day tour southeast of Oaxaca.

Here in these caves, humans gathered, drew images on the walls, told stories about hunting, animals and mystical beliefs understood only from ancient oral traditions. They built terraces to grow corn and other crops nearby. They learned many secrets of nature and passed them on, so we can enjoy many of the foods cultivated in the Americas first, before going global, including avocados, many beans, corn, chilies, chocolate, peanuts and vanilla. We all owe a debt to these ancient people, and yet we still know little about them.

My guides know the area well and told many stories of the caves, showed me exceptional pictographs and described the various species that still live here. We heard bats, saw strange black minerals that appear wet but are dry, and we talked about the most basic and universal human feelings to try to interpret the ancient images so long preserved here. Like many native religions in the US, the caves are believed to contain the secrets of the first humans and passages to the underworld. Mitla means underworld in the local language, and the Spanish intentionally built churches on sacred sites here, as they imposed their foreign religion.

Some folks today bizarrely believe that since several painted figures carry an odd shaped device that they must have been ‘downloading data from aliens’. At the excellent anthropology museum in Xalapa, I saw several identically shaped devices identified as hachas or ceremonial axes that represent maize and are at least 3000 years old, which would seem to be a more likely explanation. I think we need to make a new effort to understand our human origins, our relationship with nature, and our oldest beliefs in order to find more respectful, more insightful and more meaningful ways to live.