INAH presents relevant findings along section 4 of the Mayan Train

Mexico City. Along Section 4 of the Mayan Train are two of the most important archaeological sites in the country: Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam, where important discoveries have been made for understanding Mesoamerican Mayan culture, which reached its peak between the years 750 and 1200 AD.

This was reported by the head of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Diego Prieto, during the morning press conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, where progress was presented on Section 4, which goes from Izamal, Yucatán, to Cancún, Quintana Roo.

Some of the archaeological objects found as part of the work of the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza), which was undertaken after the construction of the railway project, include:

A cajete (a type of vessel) decorated with a composite silhouette, dating from the late classic Maya period, which runs from 800 to 1000 AD. This type of vessel, the official added, was usually used in funerary contexts, particularly in family rituals.

A vase with a bas-relief decoration of a high-status figure with a pectoral and feather headdress was also found. The piece dates back to 750 AD.

A ballgame marker with two players and a hieroglyphic band was found in Chichén Itzá, dating from the year 894.

Likewise, INAH experts found a sculpture of a male figure wearing a snake helmet with open jaws, also from the late classic and early postclassic periods, between 800 and 1200 AD.

One more of these objects, he said, are the rooms on the east side of the raised plaza at Ek Balam that were recently opened to the public.

Prieto Hernández presented a video with works that have been carried out in Ek Balam, the city of the Black Jaguar, with 1,200 years of history and which was still occupied at the time of the arrival of the Spanish. Its heyday was around the year 800 AD.

In Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage city and one of the seven new wonders of the world, the Great Museum of Chichen Itzá is now fully operational. “Details are lacking, especially in work areas and attention to the restoration of collections,” said the official.