Sitpch, Yucatán — Construction workers clearing land for a housing development east of the Mérida periferico have possibly unearthed a Maya cemetery and traces of an ancient settlement.
Builders there have been replaced by INAH archaeologists, who have located the skeletal remains of 72 men, women and children, and 56 burial urns as well as some wooden coffins.
Other discoveries in Sitpch, a precinct of the capital city, connect the region to Oxmul, Polok Ceh, Cuzam, Chan Much, Nichak, Tzakan and Chankiuik cultures, evidence that Maya inhabited northern Yucatán in the pre-Classic period (400 BC-200 AD), and not starting in the Classic period that followed until 600 AD, as previously thought.
The urns have remained shut and are being examined with CT scans.
Archaeologist José Pantoja said that housing construction at Fraccionamiento Los Héroes has been suspended to safeguard the site, but persistent rain has hindered INAH’s efforts to investigate the burial site.
In recent years, researchers have explored more than 15 newly discovered sites in the urban parts of Mérida, where to date INAH has recorded more than 30 sites with archaeological remains. INAH has registered 170 archaeological sites in Mérida, where parks and housing exist side-by-side with ancient sites.
Source: informador.com.mx, INAH, Wikipedia
