KANASIN, Mexico (Reuters) – Archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of an ancient Mayan city including palaces, pyramids and plazas, at the site of a future industrial park near Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico.
The site, called Xiol, has, according to archaeologists, characteristics of the Puuc Maya architectural style, common in the south of the Yucatan peninsula but rare in the Mérida region.
“We believe that more than 4,000 people lived in the surrounding area,” said Carlos Peraza, one of the archaeologists who led the excavations of the city, which is believed to have been inhabited between 600 and 900 AD.
“There were people of different social classes…priests, scribes, who lived in these big palaces, and there were also the common people who lived in small buildings,” Peraza said.
Researchers also located graves of adults and children, who were buried with obsidian and flint tools, offerings and other objects.
Remains of marine fauna have also been discovered in this area, suggesting that the townspeople supplemented their agriculture-based diet by fishing along the nearby coast.
The site was discovered after the start of work on an industrial park. This will still be built but the archaeological remains will be preserved, according to the owners of the land.
“Over time, urban development (in the area) has increased and many archaeological remains have been destroyed… but even we archaeologists are surprised, as we did not expect to find such a well-preserved site “, said Carlos Peraza.
(Report Lorenzo Hernandez and Kylie Madry; French version Augustin Turpin)