Experts from the Guadalajara branch of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) visited San Antonio Tlayacapan this week to compile a registry of antiquities housed in the town’s Museo Comunitario.
Marco Vinicio Serratos Aguirre and Gerardo Mariscal Méndez examined and cataloged natural and man-made objects that originated prior to the 20th century. These tasks were planned a year and a half ago but delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The experts meticulously measured and logged around 500 objects that included remnants of prehistoric animals, clay and stone figurines, pottery, tools and other artifacts that have been discovered in the lakebed and village land by local residents. Each piece was treated with a special varnish to protect it from deterioration and provide a surface for labeling with an identification number with India ink.
Serratos Aguirre noted that the oldest artifacts are fossils, bone fragments and teeth from creatures that inhabited the region up to 13,000 years ago. While pots and figures crafted in the pre-Hispanic era tend to be of greatest interest to the average observer, he was particularly intrigued by tiny clay balls that were once used as weights for fishing nets by the area’s early human settlers.
The museum project was initiated four years ago by the town’s historical preservation organization Acalli. In 2019, the group published a book on the village’s history, put on sale to fund remodeling and furnishing for the tiny museum site, a property on loan from the Chapala government located on Calle González Gallo, opposite the central plaza.