Diatom evidence for autochthonous artifact deposition in the Valsequillo region, Puebla, Mexico during the Sangamonian (sensu lato = 80,000 to ca. 220,000 yr BP and Illinoian (220,000 to 430,000 yr BP))

Fossil diatoms in the Valsequillo area are important in supplying adequate paleoecological evidence for the in situ deposition (in the absence of strong water currents necessary for the displacement and redeposition) of artifacts as large as those at the Hueyatlaco Archaeological Site. The paleoecology of lacustrine diatom-bearing samples from four nearby localities in the Valsequillo region all correlated with numerous diatomaceous samples from the Hueyatlaco Site (Puebla, Mexico) and indicate an autochthonous deposition of the artifacts at that site. This correlative evidence is consistent with a deposition in Sangamonian to Illinoian time and is based on the relationships of percentages of taxa in categories of the current, pH, and halobian spectra in six lines of correlation of samples between the Hueyatlaco Site and the four localities.