"Sandia Cave was discovered by an anthropology graduate student in 1936. It contained skeletal remains of such Ice Age beasts as the wooly mammoth, saber tooth cat, bison and mastodon giant sloth, as well as stone lance and arrow points, basket scraps and remnants of woven yucca moccasins."
"Recent dating shows that Sandia Man actually lived in the cave 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
That age-estimate would make Sandia Man one of the first recorded inhabitants of North America(about 30,000 years ago), hunting game in the Sandias during the same era as Folsom Man (about 25,000 years ago) roamed the plains of Northeastern New Mexico."
Here's some photos of our little hike:
A view west toward the mesa through the mountains.
Another smaller cave not far from Sandia Man's larger cave. This smaller cave was much shallower, but the cliff climb was fun.
Sandia Man's cave meanders approx 300 feet deep into the mountainside. Jax and Jem climbed down into the cave approx. 100 feet, when I planned a previous fall hiking trip here with a homeschooling group. Jax and Jem were pretty thrilled about their foray into Sandia Man Cave and came out covered with a thick layer of ochre dust.
This time we just visited the mouth of the cave and enjoyed the views.
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