Posted on 11/23/2012 6:27:19 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Evidence of the miserable life lived by the Maya during the Spanish conquest of the 16th century has emerged in an ancient settlement of Mexico's east coast, as archaeologists unearthed dozens of infant skeletons with signs of malnutrition and acute anemia.
Found in the recently opened archaeological site of San Miguelito, in the middle of the hotel chain area of Quintana Roo, near Cancun, the human burials were excavated within 11 housing buildings dating to the Late Postclassic Mayan Period (1200 - 1550).
Archaeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) estimate that at least 30 burials belong to infants between the ages of three and six. The majority suffered from hunger and most likely died of related diseases.
The 16th-century skeletons point to "a high infant mortality rate, probably derived from poor health and malnutrition," archaeologist Sandra Elizalde said in a statement...
Strategically located at the entrance of the Nichupte Lagoon, San Miguelito was an important trading center in pre-Hispanic times (1200-1350 AD)...
Pre-hispanic structures built at that time in the settlement included the 26-foot-high by 39-foot-wide Great Pyramid, and other four architectural complexes called South, Dragons, Chaac and North, where most of the burials were unearthed...
In addition to the infant burials, the archaeologists unearthed other 17 burials -- some belong to adult individuals, while others are so fragmented they cannot be identified...
The archaeologists also discovered fragments of a mural painting with fauna designs and marine elements, pottery, lithic tools and a two-inch earring, made of shell and engraved with the face of an individual.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
The drought believed by some to have disrupted life on the Colorado Plateau preceded the Spaniard diseases by a few hundred years.
Another fallen people.
Is that what I’ve seen referred to as the Classical Mayan Collapse?
The tribes didn’t die of disease in New Mexico. They died of starvation. The only white men at these monasteries were the priests. They hadn’t yet brought in settlers that would spread disease.
Anyway, all I know about it is what the docent explained.
fascinating
For something else I was doing, I went looking for corroboration of a statement that I'd read multiple times, that the archaeological remains of agriculturalists show more signs of disease and poor health than the remains of hunter-gatherers. This was pretty close to the top of the search results.
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