Mexican archaeologists have found a prehispanic mayan canoe in good condition in a cenote in the Yucatan peninsula (Mexico) during the prospecting of Section 4 of the Mayan Train, reported this Friday the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
“The relevance is that it is the first canoe of its kind to be found complete and so well preserved in the Mayan area, there are also fragments of these boats and oars in Quintana Roo, Guatemala and Belize, “said archaeologist Helena Barba Meinecke.
According to the institution’s statement, the small boat, which has been associated with the Terminal Classic period (830-950 d.C.), measures 1.60 meters long, 80 centimeters wide and 40 centimeters high, and could have been used to extract the water from the cenote or to deposit offerings during rituals.
In the other two bodies of water, the archaeologists found other archaeological elements, such as a human skeleton and ceramics, as well as mural painting, a censer, a ritual knife and more than 40 pots, among other vestiges.
The pieces were found while workers were inspecting the area surrounding the cenote, which is near a section of the project of the Maya Trend which will connect the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, with the aim of promoting the development of the Mexican southeast.
