Historians have determined that the very first human populations lived in caves in much of the western Hemisphere. This was especially important in an area like Mesoamerica where there were jaguars and other wild felines. The closeness of many Mesoamerican languages is likely due to being in the same cave together, perhaps longer than in other parts of the world.
In northern Mexico, there are the Madera caves in Chihuahua, Gruta del Tabaco in Coahuila, and the Grutas de Garcia Villa in Nuevo León. In southern Mexico, there is the Gruta Guerrero, near San Francisco Acuitlapán, close to the Guerrero-Morelos-Mexico border. It is likely that the people who hybridized the first corn from Balsas teosinte grass near the Balsas River, which is located 20 miles west, had originally been living in the cave. The Naj Tunich cave is in the Yucatán and Los Grifos Cave is in Chiapas.
In Guatemala, the Chiquimula cave in eastern Guatemala is known to have residents from about 10,000 to 6,000 years ago. In western Guatemala are the San Miguel Cave and Chumundo-Cárcel Cave. There are several caves in Honduras that may have had early human dwellers, including five along the Sesesmil River valley near Copan and the Cuyamel cave in the northeast. It is not clear if the Copán-area caves were occupied until much later, i.e. ~1000 BC. In Nicaragua people may have lived in the Bat Cave near Masaya.
In far eastern El Salvador there is one principal cave dwelling were there is evidence of very early humans, La Gruta del Espíritu Santo, near the town of Corinto, in Morazán department. There are many cave drawings, using white, black, yellow, red, and green paint, of dancers, hunters, and animals. Anthropologists have noted a few similarities in style between the drawings and later Mayan art. The first four colors are also the primary colors in Mayan cosmology. The drawings include birds, hands, and snakes.
Given the association of caves with the underworld by Mesoamericans, the name of 'Holy Spirit Cave' is ironic and perhaps an attempt by early Spanish to "exorcise" the cave.
The time period of the dwelling within the cave has not been determined, but very old tools have been found which appear to place the dates very early. The Bradshaw Foundation, which studies and protects sites like cave dwellings, did a thorough documentation of the cave and noted the need for more formal excavation.
The cave is 20 meters by 60 meters in size, with several different chambers, and 30 meters in height. This would be sufficient space to support the dwelling of 200 people at a ratio of about 60 square feet per person.
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