Thousands of Pre-Hispanic Structures Found Along Route of Controversial Railway in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Critics of the planned high-speed railroad point to its potential damage to archaeological sites and the environment

Livia Gershon
Daily Correspondent

October 27, 2021

Archaeologists conducting excavations ahead of construction of a high-speed railway in southern Mexico have discovered thousands of pre-Hispanic structures, burial grounds and artifacts dated to as early as 700 B.C.E. The team, from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), used laser scans and satellite imaging to survey the area, reports Radina Gigova for CNN.

Finds include earth mounds, complex stone architecture and ceramic artifacts that “expand ... knowledge about daily life, and trade and cultural exchange relations that existed centuries ago in the Maya area,” say the researchers in a statement, per a translation by CNN.

So far, the team has only surveyed the first 140-mile stretch of the planned 950-mile Maya Train project, which is slated to loop around the Yucatan Peninsula. Archaeologists made the discoveries in a section of the route that runs from the ruins of the Maya city of Palenque in the state of Chiapas to a highway crossing in Escárcega, Campeche. INAH did not specify whether any of the ruins were “disturbed or destroyed” by the work, reports the Associated Press (AP).

One particular area of interest along the controversial railway is Boca del Cerro in Tenosique, Tabasco. At the height of the Maya civilization, the spot served as a commercial hub connecting communities along the Usumacinta River with other parts of Mesoamerica. Some of the people buried at the site had cranial deformations, suggesting they held high religious or political status in Maya society, writes Gabriella Angeleti for the Art Newspaper. (The Maya and other Mesoamerican societies sometimes used molding techniques to change the shape of infants’ heads, resulting in broader foreheads.)



The train route connects tourist attractions such as the Palenque ruins.
Carlos Adampol Galindo via Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thousands-of-prehispanic-structures-found-along-mexicos-maya-train-route-180978946/