Rare, ancient Maya canoe found in Mexico's Yucatan
October 29, 2021
8:19 PM CDT
Last Updated 7 hours ago
Americas
Reuters
2 minute read
MEXICO CITY, Oct 29 (Reuters) - A used by the ancient Maya and believed to be over 1,000 years old has turned up in southern Mexico, officials said on Friday, part of archeological work accompanying the construction of a major new tourist train.
The extremely rare canoe was found almost completely intact, submerged in a fresh-water pool known as a cenote, thousands of which dot Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, near the ruins of Chichen Itza, once a major Maya city featuring elaborately carved temples and towering pyramids.
Measuring a little over 5 feet (1.6 meters) in length and 2-1/2 feet (80 cm) wide, the canoe was possibly used to transport water from the cenote or deposit ritual offerings, according to a statement from Mexican antiquities institute INAH.
The institute described the extraordinary find as "the first complete canoe like this in the Maya area," adding that experts from Paris' Sorbonne University will help with an analysis of the well-preserved wood to pin-point its age and type.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/rare-ancient-maya-canoe-found-mexicos-yucatan-2021-10-30/
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Older article:
Extensive Mayan salt trade discovered
Ancient Mayan entrepreneurs distilled salt from seawater and paddled it to inland cities in canoes, all without government control, researchers reported Monday.
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Bone engravings show paddles from the Classic Maya period. Remains from a 1,300-year-old wooden paddle were found by the researchers.LSU / PNAS
April 4, 2005, 7:25 PM CDT / Source: Reuters
Ancient Mayan entrepreneurs working along the coast of what is now Belize distilled salt from seawater and paddled it to inland cities in canoes, all without government control, researchers reported Monday.
They found evidence of 41 saltworks on a single coastal lagoon and the remains of a 1,300-year-old wooden canoe paddle.
Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows the extent of trade just before the Mayan civilization in that region mysteriously fell apart.
"The discovery of the saltworks indicates that there was extensive production and distribution of goods and resources outside the cities in the interior of the Yucatan," they wrote.
More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7385222
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FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014
Maya Canoes
The Maya, whose civilization was based in the southern Mexico (including the densely forested Yucatan Peninsula) and parts of Central America depended heavily upon waterborne transport to supply goods to their several urban centers. Within Mayan territory, goods traveled by river from the interior to coastal areas, and from the coast inland as well. Coastwise trade also occurred both among Maya and with neighboring peoples.
Christopher Columbus encountered the Maya in the Yucatan on his fourth voyage to the New World. His son Ferdinand wrote:
"...there arrived at that time a canoe long as a galley and eight feet [2.5m] wide, made of a single tree trunk like the other Indian canoes; it was freighted with merchandise from the western regions around New Spain. Amidships it had a palm-leaf awning like that which the Venetian gondolas carry; this gave complete protection against the rain and waves. Under this awning were the children and women and all the baggage and merchandise. There were twenty-five paddlers...."
The cargo in this single canoe included clothing, tools, weapons, foodstuffs, wine and luxury items. Obsidian was also an important import. The reported width of 8 feet seems unlikely for a logboat.
More:
http://indigenousboats.blogspot.com/2014/04/maya-canoes.html
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