Mummified Bird, Baby Found in Cave Shed Light on Earliest Desert Farmers

Archaeologists called to investigate a cave on a rancher’s property have discovered an unusual burial that’s providing new insights into the ways of some of the earliest farmers of the Chihuahuan Desert.

In the cave, researchers have found the skeleton of an infant, the lower half of a man whose legs were tied together, and the remains of a scarlet macaw, all buried among a scattering of stone points, textiles, and other artifacts.

Western Digs