SUNDOG
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Mexican archeologists say artifacts found in Baja California could be from early galleon
Mexican archeologists say artifacts found in Baja California could be from early galleon
The Associated PressPublished: February 26, 2007
MEXICO CITY: Mexican archeologists reported on Monday that porcelain plates and other artifacts found amid shifting coastal dunes in Baja California
could be part of the wreckage of one of the earliest galleons that plied the route from the Philippines to Mexico, once Spanish colonies.
Seals and other markings found on some of the estimated 1,000 fragments of porcelain plates found so far indicate they were made in China in the late
1500s, said archaeologist Luz Maria Mejia of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, who was involved in the investigation.
The site, near the port of Ensenada, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the U.S. border, is covered by shifting sand dunes that cover and uncover
artifacts, and have apparently been doing so for centuries. Investigators spent several years searching the dunes.
The San Diego Maritime Museum has been cooperating in the research.
Jesuit missionaries, who were among the first to establish settlements on the Baja California peninsula in the 1700s, reported finding porcelain and
wax in the area.
While early Spanish galleons — which began plying the Pacific route in the 1560s — were headed for the port of Acapulco, far to the south, it was
common for sailing ships of the era to catch favorable winds that would bring them near the coast further north, around the California coast. They
would then hug the coast as they traveled south to Acapulco.
While researchers have not yet pinpointed the origin of the artifacts, they believe they may are the result of a shipwreck, although none has been
found. That view is supported by results from metal detectors and other devices that have detected "anomalous" areas off the coast that could be a
shipwreck site.
Spanish ships regularly shipped eastern trade goods from the Philippines to Mexico.
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BajaNews
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In this photo released on Monday Feb. 26, 2007 by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History a porcelain plate is seen next to a ruler on
the site where it was found in the shifting coastal dunes in Baja California near the city of Ensenada, Mexico, about 80 km. ( 50 miles ) south of the
U.S. border. Porcelain plates and other artifacts found could be part of the wreckage of one of the earliest galleons that plied the route from the
Philippines to Mexico, once Spanish colonies, according to Mexican archeologists.(AP Photo/INAH)
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BajaNews
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In this photo released on Monday Feb. 26, 2007 by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History a porcelain plate is seen next to a ruler on
the site where it was found in the shifting coastal dunes in Baja California near the city of Ensenada, Mexico, about 80 km. ( 50 miles ) south of the
U.S. border. Porcelain plates and other artifacts found could be part of the wreckage of one of the earliest galleons that plied the route from the
Philippines to Mexico, once Spanish colonies, according to Mexican archeologists.(AP Photo/INAH)
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surfer jim
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What dunes are these?.....I keep thinking about the ones off the highway ...but those are just south of Rosarito......
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Minnow
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Mood: Embarrased Harry Reid is a Nevadan
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I bet they are the ones at the end of punta estero. Everything washes up there.
Proud husband of a legal immigrant.
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Mexitron
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Mood: Happy!
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Imagine what they would find if they dug up Malarrimo!
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wilderone
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It is well documented that the Chinese lived near Point Conception - their artifacts are still found at Jalama Beach, and oriental porcelain has been
found in Ocean Beach in San Diego. It would not be a stretch to believe that these very early explorers went further south.
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