SukritiLost In Past
The scientists found the remains of short-faced bears, mountain lions, sabertooth cats, the elephant-relative gomphothere, and tapirs. Also, a team will be presenting the findings at this years’ annual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). Naia, a 15-year-old girl’s skeleton is the most important of all the findings.
Wonder For World
The Gran Acuifero Mayo project found skeletal remains of early human settlers that lived more than 9,000 years ago. Naia is one of the oldest skeleton found on the American lands. She was probably an early human was also restored from these caves.
Connecting The Dots
“[The] preservation of the fossil material is extraordinary, and will allow us to reconstruct various aspects of anatomy, evolutionary relationships, and behavior. The diversity of the fauna gives us an exciting new picture of this region in the midst of rapid climatic and environmental change. This represents the oldest and most complete early human skeleton in the Americas, and she co-existed with a variety of megafauna,” stated Dr. Blaine Schubert of East Tennessee State University, one of the lead researchers.
A Big Deal
“The remains of the short-faced bear Arctotherium are particularly significant, representing not only the most complete and abundant material from one location but also the first evidence that they crossed from South America into North America. Hoyo Negro is a more than 100-foot-deep, bell-shaped, water-filled void about the size of a professional basketball arena deep inside a drowned cave system. Only technical cave divers can reach the bottom. First they must climb down a 30-foot ladder in a nearby sinkhole; then they swim along 200 feet of tunnel to the pit rim before making a final 100-foot drop,” said James Chatters, American anthropologist.
15,000-Year-Old Bones
Another significant finding is one of the Sac Actun cave systems is a complete skeleton of a gomphothere, probably an ancestor of the elephants. A gomphothere is quite similar looking to an elephant. These bones are more than 15,000 years old.
Exquisite Pottery
As per the historians, Mayan people were famous for the unique pottery that they used in vessels to drink chocolate for elite people. Even Mayan people’s extremely beautiful pieces of ceramic art are found underwater. Bowls and jugs are also recovered beneath the Mexican surface.