La Cueva (The Cave)

La Cueva rock shelter is an archeological site associated with the Jornada branch of the prehistoric Mogollon culture. The cave has seen considerable pothunting activity over the years. In the mid 1970's, the Centennial Museum of the University of Texas at El Paso conducted test excavations in front of La Cueva where about 100,000 artifacts were recovered.

Analysis indicated that the rock shelter was occupied from about 5,000 B.C. through the historic period following arrival of Europeans. In addition to artifacts, animal bones were recovered indicating the early occupants of the rock shelter probably subsisted on rabbits, deer, antelope, and bighorn sheep.

During the 19th century, the rock shelter was probably known to the roving bands of Apaches who frequented the area. In the late 1860's, the cave served as home to Giovanni Maria Agostini, one of the more eccentric figures in New Mexico's history.