Ancient 'Mayan Ritual' Human Bone Discovered in Underwater Cave

An ancient canoe found deep underwater inside a Mexican sinkhole near the ruined Mayan city of Chichén Itzá has been revealed to have been surrounded by bones from humans and other animals.

The canoe was found in 2021 by archaeologists and divers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) inside the San Andrés cenote on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, inside a submerged cave about 15 feet below the current water level.

Archaeologists found that the canoe was surrounded by the skeletal remains of seven individuals of different species, including armadillo, turkey, dog, eagle and human, Helena Barba Meinecke, head of the Yucatan Peninsula Office of the INAH Sub-directorate of Underwater Archeology (SAS), said at the National Autonomous University of Mexico's 12th International Congress of Mayanists on Wednesday.

The human bone was found to be a metatarsal from the left foot of an adult female.

The human and armadillo bones, in particular, pointed toward the canoe's use in Mayan rituals, according to an INAH release.

"The preponderance of armadillo bones and the presence of the human metatarsal lead experts to theorize the ritual use of the canoe and its placement in the cavern before it was flooded," the release says, translated into English.

The armadillo's swimming ability may have symbolized the entry into the underworld via the cenote sinkhole, and the armadillo is also sometimes considered an avatar of the Mayan underworld deity known as God L.

The canoe's shape may also point toward it being ritually used, as it had a very heavy prow and stern, giving it limited ability to navigate.

The BBC reported in 2021 that the canoe had been initially estimated to have been created in 830-950 AD. Now, the Carbon-14 dating of the canoe's wood revealed that the canoe is actually from the 16th century, crossing over to the period after the Spanish began colonizing. Archeologists also found microplastics in the cenote's water that they say may have affected the dating, so new dives are being planned to take fresh samples of the wood and bone.

During the 2021 dives, they also found mural paintings, a ceremonial knife and fragments of 40 pottery vessels, which were also thought to have been likely intentionally broken as part of ritual events.

"It is evident that this is an area where ceremonies were held," Barba Meinecke said in a statement at the time, translated by MailOnline.

This was thought "because of the intentionally fragmented pottery, but also because of the remains of charcoal that indicate their exposure to fire and the way they placed stones on top of them to cover them," she explained.

"The relevance lies in the fact that it is the first canoe of this type that is complete and so well preserved in the Mayan area," she said. "There are also fragments of these boats and oars in Quintana Roo, Guatemala and Belize."

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