A terrific site for archeology, except for all the things that could kill you
A terrific site for archeology, except for all the things that could kill you
By Roberto Lovato September 18, 2016
Roberto Lovato
NUEVOS CASAS GRANDES, MEXICO
“We just ran over a snake,” says Eduardo Gamboa, as I steer my rental car along the rocky road leading to the Cueva de la Olla cliff dwellings, high in the Sierra Madre mountains. Summer monsoons here often force rattlers out of their normal habitats. True to the cliche, narrow paths really do define life and death in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico.
The arid region’s unusual topography and weather — desert grasslands, sky islands (isolated mountain ranges with forests), snowy winters, and wet summers — make it a land of unique intersections, a place where physical extremes blur expectations. Native to the region are zone-tailed hawks, which confuse their prey by mimicking the appearance and flight patterns of nonpredatory turkey vultures.
A few miles out of Nuevo Casas Grandes, home to the storied Paquimé ruins and the main city in the vast agricultural area 170 miles southwest of El Paso, we pass trucks crowded with Mexican troops wearing black facemasks. The military, despite infiltration by the narcos, is often charged with policing the area. The government sees few alternatives. The entire police force of the nearby town of Ascencion, which reportedly serves as a cartel training camp, quit after being threatened by hitmen.
But the army is a blunt, often brutal instrument. Earlier this year, a judge sentenced the commander and seven soldiers from the 35th Infantry Battalion in Nuevo Casas Grandes to 33 years in prison for human rights violations, including torture, murder, and the clandestine burial of two civilians.
More:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2016/09/17/dig/mOlXxfVbgjjJGkI4Q6qRwJ/story.html
Anthropology:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12292849
