QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO—The Miami Herald reports that members of the Cenotes Urbanos organization discovered a Maya pot in an alcove within Zumpango Cave, some 14 miles from Playa del Carmen. Archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have dated the nearly intact vessel to the Late Postclassic period (1200–1519) before the arrival of European colonists. The researchers were also able to make out a black painted geometric design on the pot's surface, which is covered in a calcified accretion. Cleaning and further analysis of the vessel will help them more precisely date it and ascertain its possible origin and function. To read about ritual objects found in a cave system near Chichen Itza, go to "Maya Subterranean World," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2019.
