(CNN) – Archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of Mayan artifacts, including ceramic vessels and burial sites, along a railway construction project on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a report Thursday (INAH).
Researchers have unearthed about 2,500 pre-Hispanic structures, 80 burials and thousands of ships and fragments along the route known as the “Mayan Rail” so far.
The artifacts were discovered with the help of GPS geo-references, satellite terrain images and lidar sensors.
“Both immovable archeological artifacts and movables expand the knowledge of everyday life and trade and cultural exchange relations that existed centuries ago in the Mayan region,” said INH.
Some objects of “special interest” to the researchers included “a vessel with a bowl and a hole, with four mamiform supports (representing a woman’s breasts)”. They have been called protoclassic since the transition from Proglassic to Classic, INAH said.
Archaeologists believe the ships were used by the ruling elite at “critical political or religious moments.”
Support and criticism of rail construction in Mexico
Located on the banks of the Usumasinda River, the Boca del Zero area is another area of interest for researchers, as well as a large residential area associated with the main business center connecting Usumasinda and other parts of Mesoamerica. .
“The construction of the Mayan train, through archeological recovery, poses an important research opportunity aimed at expanding knowledge about the archaeological sites of the regions where the train travels,” the researchers said.
However, critics of the rail project, which aims to connect beach resorts and the interior of the peninsula, say it could damage the environment and other archeological sites.
The President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, considered the construction of the project, which will cross five states, to be carried out in an environmentally sound manner and to benefit tourism.
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