Trump’s Border Expansion Threatens 6,000-Year-Old Cave Paintings
Hundreds of archaeological sites in Texas’s Big Bend region, including 6,000-year-old cave paintings, could be threatened by a Trump administration plan to expand the US–Mexico border barrier, according to archaeologists cited by Hyperallergic. Amanda Castañeda of the Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center said at least 425 Texas archaeological sites, including 84 cave murals, could be disrupted by a proposed $46 billion “smart wall” combining physical barriers with AI-powered surveillance. On Monday, July 27, the federal government exempted the Texas portion of the border wall from environmental preservation laws, including the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The administration described the area as a “high illegal entry” zone, though it has also been characterized as remote and seldom used by migrants.
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This story was covered in Strikes, Seizures, and the Art World Under Siege