Oldest human remains hard-to-find by cave divers could be destroyed
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On the Caribbean coast of Mexico, a skeleton of a prehistoric man was found in a cave system that was flooded at the end of the last ice age 8,000 years ago.
The discovery was made by speleologist-diver, archaeologist Octavio del Rio and his fellow diver Peter Broger. They saw a shattered skull and a skeleton partially covered by sediment in a cave near where the Mexican government plans to build a high-speed tourist train through the jungle.
Given the distance from the cave entrance, the skeleton couldn’t have gotten there without modern diving equipment, so it must be over 8,000 years old, Del Rio said. He believes that people lived in the cave before it flooded, that is, over 8,000 years ago.
It is known that the oldest human remains in North America were discovered in karst caves, also called “cenotes” on the Caribbean coast of the country.
The unique archaeological site is now threatened by the Maya Train tourism project run by the Mexican government.
Del Rio, who has worked with the National Institute of Anthropology and History on projects in the past, said he notified the institute of the discovery. The Institute did not immediately respond to questions about whether it intends to explore the site. Writes about it phys.org.
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