Comalcalco (Mexique) : Probable prehispanic maya cemetery found Part.1
Probable prehispanic maya cemetery found in Tabasco
INAH
In the surroundings of Comalcalco Archaeological Zone, Tabasco,
the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) found 116 burials of more than 1,000 years old; 66 of them were deposited in funerary urns
while the other 50 were placed around them.
The finding represents the greatest skeleton sample found in this Maya region, suggesting it could be a Prehispanic Maya cemetery.
Funerary deposits were located under 3 soil monticules worn out by agricultural activities. “It is possible that skeletons found in the urns, 66, correspond to members of the Maya elite, while the other 50, placed in different positions around the pots, were their companions”, commented archaeologist Ricardo Armijo, coordinator of archaeological salvage at Comalcalco, Tabasco.
Associated to burials were found ceramic whistles and rattles representing animals and splendidly attired men and women;
dozens of flint and obsidian knives and their debris; multiple metate (grinder) fragments, as well as more than 70,000 ceramic fragments.
“Preliminary analysis of material suggests burials to be between 1,161 and 1,200 years old, corresponding to the Late Classic period (750-850 AD); still, we need to perform exhaustive studies to confirm it”, declared archaeologist Armijo.