Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered sets of human remains from early ancestors of the Mayan civilization that could be as many as 7,000 years old, officials reported on Aug. 7.
According to archaeologists at a Mexico City news conference, three sets of human remains were unearthed at the Puyil cave located in the Tacotalpa municipality of southern Mexico’s Tabasco state.
One of the sets of human remains reportedly goes as far back as the pre-classical era of Mayan civilization, making it up to 7,000 years old. The other two skeletons are estimated to be about 4,000 years old.
These ancient Mayan remains are on display in the capital’s Anthropology Museum for the “Puyil: the Cave of Ancestors” exhibition. People can see the remains as well as find other artifacts discovered in the region such as ceramics and pieces of jade.
The Maya were among the great ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica, building cities with elaborate ceremonial centres and soaring stone pyramids in modern-day Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
They dominated the region for some 2,000 years before the ancient civilization mysteriously abandoned its cities around AD 900.