Ndaxagua (also Ndaxagua cave, Ndaxagua natural tunnel), locally known in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
as ''El Puente Colosal'' ("Colossal
aturalBridge") is a natural cave with double entrance and
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...
, located in the extreme northern end of the
Coixtlahuaca Basin, central-southern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The cave was most likely used by
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...
n cultures such as the
Zapotec and
Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture w ...
as well.
The cave gets its name from a natural rock bridge formation above it. The cave functioned as a sacred entrance into the basin. Several Coixtlahuaca
codices
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
refer to this cave. In
codex depictions, the cave was believed to be the place where
Quetzalcoatl descended from heaven.
There are several pre-Columbian
inscriptions at the Ndaxagua site. These murals in the cave depict
anthropomorphic figures with protruding beak-like mask. Another mural shows a deer ready to be sacrificed by a figure holding a blades. Another sacrificial mural is present as well.
Location
the region belongs to the communities of
Tepelmeme Villa de Morelos and
Santa María Ixcatlán and is part of the protected semi-desert area
of the
Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve
The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán biosphere reserve is a protected natural area located in southeastern Mexico. Its name derives from its two main locations: Cuicatlán and Tehuacán, in the latter are their administrative offices, covers 490,186 hectares d ...
at
Juquila River
See also
*
List of caves in Mexico
*
Maya cave sites
Mayan cave sites are associated with the Mayan civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Beliefs and observances connected with these cave sites persist among some contemporary Mayan communities. Many of the Mayan caves served religious purposes. ...
ext site
Five years of speleological investigation in the karst of Sierra Mixteca-Zapoteca, South of Tehuacàn, Oaxaca, Mexico Conference: 15th International Congress of Speleology
References
*
Caves of Mexico
Mesoamerican sites
Mixtec sites
Cave sites in Mesoamerican archaeology
Archaeological sites in Oaxaca
Landforms of Oaxaca
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