Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Archaeologists have transferred human remains found in the underground Sac Actun river system for studies. The remains were located in the Quintana Roo underground system in 2022.
They were recovered at the end of last year and have since been transferred to the Directorate of Archaeological Salvage, in Mexico City for study.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says the cave where the skeleton was found in the Sac Actun underground river system possibly served as a natural burial crypt.
The skeletal remains found correspond to a male between the ages of 20 and 25. Also found was the skull of a woman.
The remains were recovered at the end of 2025 in the Sac Actun underground river system in Quintana Roo. Authorities say they have since been transferred by the Directorate of Archaeological Studies (DEA) of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to the Bioarchaeology Section of the Directorate of Archaeological Salvage, in Mexico City.
The Secretary of Culture of the Mexican Government, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, stated that “the transfer and study of these human remains recovered in Quintana Roo represents a very important step forward for research on the first inhabitants of our territory.
“Each discovery of this nature expands scientific knowledge about our ancient history and confirms the value of the specialized work carried out by the INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) to protect, conserve, and study an exceptional heritage.”
The artifact arrived packaged in airtight boxes to protect its preservation and prevent any contamination. It was delivered to physical anthropologist Arturo Talavera González, head of the relevant department, who will lead the bioarchaeological analyses and studies.
Following preliminary observations based on two diagnostic bones, the angle of the mastoid process and the thickening of the frontal bone above the eye sockets, the anthropologist determined that the individual was male.
Based on the long bones, he estimated a height of approximately 1.45 to 1.50 meters. He was of very slender build and was likely between 20 and 25 years old at the time of death.
The specialist also estimates that 40 percent of the skeleton was recovered including parts of the skull, some ribs and vertebrae, the clavicles, the right scapula, fragments of the hip bone and long bones from the upper and lower limbs.
The fossil is in fair condition, so a consolidation process has begun before it can be handled for study.
Along with the male fossil came a female skull, also recovered during the same excavation. Talavera González confirmed that it belongs to a woman between 35 and 45 years old at the time of her death, who suffered from malnutrition.
Although the jawbone is present, she no longer has teeth. It will undergo osteometric studies to approximate her physical characteristics and determine a possible ethnic affiliation.
Archaeologist Luis Alberto Martos López, who serves as advisor and academic guarantor for the project, reported that the skeleton was located at the bottom of a cenote, 200 meters underground and eight meters deep, in a small chamber behind a speleothem.
A significant amount of charcoal was also found, indicating activity at the site, which between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago was a cavern, as the sea level was between 20 and 30 meters lower than it is today.
He recalled that, during that period, the Yucatán Peninsula was a vast grassland with shrubs, grasses, few trees, and megafauna, so caves served as shelters for the first inhabitants.
“There were hearths, which indicates that the cave was active and that, probably, when this person died, they used the chamber as a natural burial crypt, which speaks to certain beliefs and funerary rites,” he said.
Meanwhile, the female skull, he recalled, was located near another of the cenote’s entrances, at a shallow depth.
Based on photographic material analyzed by the American anthropologist James Chatters, a hypothesis was put forward that places her as a likely person of African descent. However, he reiterated that the results of physical anthropology analyses must be awaited to support this possibility.
