Almost 5,000 ancient cave paintings have been found in northeastern Mexico, and the information they provide gives researchers new insight into the region.

The paintings were found around the base of the Sierra de San Carlos mountain range in Mexico's state of Tamaulipas. In total, researchers found the paintings scattered over 11 different sites, and they are quick to stress the importance of the cave art.

"The discovery is important because we have documented the presence of pre-Hispanic groups in Burgos, where before it was said there was nothing, when in reality it was inhabited by one or more cultures," says archaeologist Gustavo Ramirez, of the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History.

People, including the History Channel, have previously theorized that there were indigenous people that had once populated the region. Though it appears those theories were correct, researchers are still having a diffcult time dating the paintings.

"We have not found any ancient objects linked to the context, and because the paintings are on ravine walls and in the rainy season the sediments are washed away, all we have is gravel," Ramirez noted.

The paintings were created with red, yellow, black and white pigments. They show various humans and animals, as well as depict the daily lives of those indigenous people hunting, fishing, and setting up camp.

Spanish explorers, the conquistadors, did not settle in the region until the middle of the 15th century. They did have accounts of indigenous people in the Tamaulipas, but these cave paintings serve as the first hard evidence of those people. The settlers were never able to fully control the region.

The cave painting findings were presented during Second Conference of Archaeological History in Mexico City. It is the hope of some that the announcement will bring positive press to a region that has often been oppressed by violence.