you may find all kind of cool thing in caves . Frompearlstosoftball - sized spiders , ancient humanartwork , and evenunicorns , there ’s no narrate what awaits the curiouscaveexplorer . Nothing exemplify this fact more distinctly than the surprise that greeted archaeologists in Mexico recently , when they roll back a boulder to reveal a dependable cave of wonders – if your definition of “ wonder ” includes a loading of human and beast bones , that is .
The discovery was made in Tulum by scientists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History ( INAH ) working on a project for the Union Ministry of Culture . While sour to open up up a new pathway between two excavated buildings , they find a boulder adorned with a sea escargot stuck to the rock , remnants of the ancient medal left by the pre - HispanicMayainhabitants of the region .
“ When remove the rock that shut the entrance to the bodily cavity , it was observed that it was literally splitting the osseous tissue remains of an somebody , leaving the downcast part of his soundbox on the exterior and the upper part inside it , ” tell undertaking coordinator José Antonio Reyes Solís in astatement .
Just some of the remains that were excavated.Image credit: Proyecto de investigación Promeza, Tulum/Jerónimo Aviles Olguin
That ’s right : when they rolled the boulder aside to figure the cave , they found that it was sitting on top of the remains of an unfortunate human , cut the skeleton straight down the middle .
With an untier like that , it was unmortgaged the cave would be worth exploring . It was quickly establish to be made up of at least two little chambers , each only around 3 measure ( 9.8 feet ) by 2 m ( 6.5 invertebrate foot ) in size , and with an average top of just 50 centimeter ( 19.6 inches ) . Up to now , eight human burying situation have been key out within the chambers , mostly of adults , which are well - preserved thanks to the favorable environmental conditions .
But it ’s not only human bones that have been uncovered . The team sought the expertness of Jerónimo Avilés and Cristian Sánchez , both specialists in the designation of brute remains , and it appears the small cave contains a veritable Noah ’s Ark of creature . Preliminary analytic thinking divulge at least nine species of mammal – includingblood - sucking batsanddomestic Canis familiaris – along with various birds , reptiles , Pisces the Fishes – includingtiger sharks – crustaceans , escargot , and frogs .
A member of the team sheds some light on the finds.Image credit: Proyecto de investigación Promeza, Tulum/Jerónimo Aviles Olguin
Some of the bones show augury of cutmarks and modifications , suggesting they had been fashion into various artifact typical of the region , such as needles . A gravid number of ceramic sherd were also obtain at the site .
Working inside the cave has been challenging for the team , who have had to manage not only with the cramped space but also the want of light , gamy heat and humidness , and unwelcome dirt ball denizen . fortunately , the researchers have at their disposition modern tech like high - resolution photography and laser scanner , and design to fabricate exact 3D models of the cave so that this gripping site can be preserve for the future .
And if you ca n’t make it to Mexico any clock time presently , you ’re in chance : INAH say it plan to employ these model not only for research , but to make a virtual tour of the cave accessible to the public , so even the most claustrophobic of buddingexplorerscan venture inside this ancient dead room .
Working in such close quarters has not been easy for the team.Image credit: Proyecto de investigación Promeza, Tulum/Jerónimo Aviles Olguin.
