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| The Young Man of Chan Hol lies in a Mexican undersea cave before the bones' removal |
Apparently laid to rest more than 10,000 years ago in a fiery ritual, one of the oldest skeletons in the Americas has been retrieved from an undersea cave along Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, researchers say. Dating to a time when the now lush region was a near desert, the "Young Man of Chan Hol" may help uncover how the first Americans arrived—and who they were.
It is surprised when i saw this article. This mean 10,000 years ago human might live under the sea and there are not just one!
No human, they conclude, could have ended up so far back in the cave system after that point—which is why they believe the young man is at least 10,000 years old. The exact age of the bones should be determined by ongoing carbon-dating tests, which should be completed in three to four months, Gonzalez said.The newly raised skeleton is the fourth to be found in underwater caves around the town of Tulum. One of the other skeletons—named the Woman of Naharon, or Eve of Naharon—is thought to be even more ancient, around 12,000 years old.The team also found evidence of bonfires inside the cavern, which could suggest that illuminating the cave was a part of the funeral ceremony.The cavern where the body was found may have been chosen as the young man's final resting place due to its rich trove of stalactites and stalagmites—rocky cones that hang from the ceiling and thrust up from the ground, respectively.
"Next to his head are a group of stalagmites that could have evoked a special resting place," Gonzalez said, "or perhaps the place to begin a journey after death."
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