SAN CRISTOBAL, Mexico (AP) — A representative of Mexico's main anthropology agency says the remains of 167 people found in a cave in the country's south were part of a pre-Hispanic cemetery dating back some 1,300 years.

The Chiapas state prosecutor's office said authorities found the remains on Friday on the Nuevo Ojo de Agua ranch in a region where Central American migrants pass through while heading north. Local farmers had first come across the cave last week and had alerted authorities.

Emilio Gallaga of the national anthropology institute says the first test results show the remains come from a still-unspecified pre-Hispanic community dating to the eighth century. He says clay artwork that could have come from a pre-Hispanic group was also found in the cave.