Remote Maya Campsite Found in Southeastern Mexico

TELCHAC PUEBLO, MEXICO—Newsweek reports that a remote 57-acre Maya campsite with traces of several structures, mounds of ash and charcoal, and pottery fragments has been discovered on the Yucatán Peninsula by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Mario Alberto Garrido. No other Maya sites had been identified in the area, Garrido said, and this one was probably only used by the Maya during the dry season. Most of the pottery has been dated to the Early Classic period, between A.D. 250 and 600, although some of the fragments have been dated to the Late Preclassic period, between 400 B.C. and A.D. 200. Alicia Beatriz Quintal of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History added that the remains of a large number of snails were also recovered. Many of the snail shells were complete, while others were found in fragments or had been modified. The snails are thought to have been used for food and to make utensils, such as spoons. For more on the Maya, go to "Jungle Realm of the Snake Queens."