The controversy over the construction of the Mayan Train has focused these days on the ecological impact that the work is having on the jungle in Quintana Roo and what it could have on the Mayan aquifer known as Sac Actunwhich is the largest freshwater reserve in Mexico and the largest system of rivers, caves and underground cenotes in the world.
Last Monday, environmentalists, researchers, speleologists, biologists, archaeologists, activists and artists, the majority with a permanent presence in the Mayan region and ignored by the authorities, reiterated in front of National Palace that the megaproject does not have environmental impact studies, that the announced reforestation does not meet the criteria of biodiversity and endogeneity, that is to say that it is intended to introduce species that do not belong to the ecosystem; that the wildlife crossings are not adequate because they fragment the forest and isolate the animals and that in the archaeological rescue work “the remains are being destroyed and taken out of their context, because there is no time for their study and protection.”
Given the latter, the archaeologist Manuel Eduardo Pérez Rivas, professor-researcher of the Archaeological Salvage Directorate of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and academic responsible for the rescue project on the Mayan Train route, acknowledges that in any work that is carried out “there is always a potential for damage”, but rejected that in the case of the Mayan Train the archaeological remains are being destroyed or that endanger the remains of pre-Hispanic settlements.
On the contrary, he says, a geospatial analysis laboratory was integrated, and “we are using high technology to do a very thorough and methodical exploration work, better registration and diagnosis of the areas that can be intervened and protected,” says Pérez Rivas. .
It details that in 950 kilometers that the INAH has accompanied (sections 1 to 4), prospecting and rescue work has been carried out by implementing optical remote sensing methods such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and drones to detect areas of concentration of archaeological remains. “These data are contrasted with various databases that have been consolidated over the years and then proceed to make surface tours to determine the appropriate measures.”
These records obtained, says the archaeologist responsible, have given rise to “at least 15 variants of work” between sections 1 and 4, he assures, that is, changes in the layout or deviations from the route when they come across an archaeological site and in other cases have been taken technical measures for the protection of monuments.
Not everything that is detected in the survey necessarily has to be excavated, he clarifies, but only those points that could store valuable information and that would be at risk before the passage of the train or those that contain fragments of structures, remains of some basement, pre-Hispanic objects domestic, some architectural element, burials and offerings.
The results
Dr. Manuel Pérez Rivas reports that to date 2,773 sites have been excavated with the purpose of recovering objects for their safeguarding and obtaining information, and many of them will remain unaltered, protected by a geogrid and buried for future research.”
It reveals that as a result of these rescue tasks between sections 1 and 4, 23,184 immovable monuments have been registered and categorized, from small houses to pyramidal bases; 1,292 personal property, between metates, architectural elements, lithic objects, and 835 natural elements associated with the contexts, such as caves, cenotes, among others. And sections 5 North and 5 South are still missing.
Pérez Rivas exemplifies that only in section 2 (Escárcega-Calkiní) 629 properties have been excavated, from which 13,500 bags of various materials have been extracted, 144,000 ceramic sherds, and 129 burials have been recovered with their associated offerings.
I tell him that according to the information circulating on social networks, the public would think that the INAH is going after a bulldozer collecting sherds, even his colleagues from the institute itself point out in the document entitled The construction of the Mayan Train and the destruction of heritage archaeological site in the Yucatan Peninsula (February 2022) that the INAH subordinates the rescue work to the interests of Fonatur.
“On the contrary -he answers-, we go in front of the machines, not behind; Before a machine passes by, we have to diagnose, document and, if necessary, carry out the intervention and recovery of archaeological monuments and the data they contain, and that is a task that we do everywhere, but unfortunately some of our own colleagues are unaware of the procedures that INAH has established in this matter.”
A unique research opportunity
“Many people, including some colleagues, -he adds- think that archaeological salvage is going with a sack to recover things, but it is a scientific process and it is an opportunity for research. All large development works (roads, hydroelectric plants, dams, subway lines) are an opportunity to investigate areas that otherwise would not have the opportunity or funding to be able to intervene, because archeology is a very expensive activity, and in this case, the work of the train is giving us the opportunity to discover and intervene in more than 1,500 km of the Mayan area, which constitutes the largest extensive archaeological project in recent decades”.
“In an excavation, not only objects are recovered but, above all, information from the context, that is the scientific study that supports archaeology,” archaeologist Pérez Rivas abounds.
“In sections 1 and 2 we detected areas that were very relevant, of exceptional value at the level of monuments and opinions were issued to the construction consortium and Fonatur indicating the necessary line variants, which were addressed and allowed to minimize the impact on this area” , details.
“In section 2 Escárcega-Calkiní structures have been detected and protected from the Maya Preclassic, middle and late (1000-250 BC). That information, otherwise, we would not have obtained it,” confirms archaeologist Adriana Velázquez Morlet, director of the INAH Campeche Center.
“I think that, in general, the institute is doing a very professional job and the effects that could have on the archaeological heritage are being minimized as much as possible and most of the information is being preserved,” adds the archaeologist.
The controversial section 5
The academic responsible for the archaeological salvage on the route of the mayan train informs that Section 5, from Cancun to Tulum, still needs to be explored and diagnosed, and this is precisely the section in discord, in whose subsoil the most extensive system of underground rivers, caves and cenotes in the world is located, 1,650 submerged caves that add up to about 1,400 km of flooded passages, and where the oldest human bone remains and Pleistocene fauna on the continent have been found.
However, the works with machinery in that section have already begun and have not stopped, even despite the fact that the first district court, based in Yucatán, granted the provisional suspension of works in section 5 south on April 18. .
In this regard, the archaeologist INAH points out: “If there is a cavity or a site where we have already detected monuments, we will have to indicate protection measures or diversion (of the route), but that has to be a very serious exercise and with very precise data, we cannot act in based on assumptions; we have to go with the data to verify the places that are on the route where the train is going to pass. That is the work that we are currently starting to do.”
He acknowledges that “in section 5 we have caves, which although they are natural formations, have archaeological monuments inside, walls, rooms, temples, even some with Pleistocene, animal and human remains, and we also have to record and preserve them.”
I ask him if geophysical and load studies have been carried out in the area in question to determine the risks due to the passage of the train or if they have been recommended. “I am not a specialist in karsticity or in the environment, -he answers- I am competent in matters of archaeological monuments, but any type of ruling has to be supported by very serious work. We currently have very complete databases that have these underground sites registered, and we are relying on the Underwater Archeology Subdirectorate, which has very well mapped the area and is working on this documentation and issuing its opinion on the areas that have to be protected.
Pérez Rivas recognizes that on the eastern coast of Quintana, which goes from Cancun to Tulum, there is a high population density and it is an area that has grown in a disorderly manner, for which he considers the need to have a comprehensive urban reorganization plan. and environmental, “there is a lot of predation and human factors that affect the ecosystem and the archaeological remains,” he says.
Remember that the INAH participated in 2012 in the intergovernmental initiative of a regulatory plan for the use of caves and cenotes, precisely because of the importance of these karst shelters, not only for their heritage value but also for their environmental value, but the initiative “remained in the inkwell,” he says.
In addition, he shares that INAH is proposing that research reserves be created in areas associated with the Mayan Train, so that they are delimited and protected.
He assures that the work of INAH on the Mayan Train route will be documented. “We are doing the archaeological rescue with great seriousness and commitment, everything is in writing; the logs, opinions and reports will remain there for posterity, so that current and future generations know what role we play in this work and how we protect the archaeological heritage”.
the hiding place
However, INAH does not have enough eyes and hands to cover the entire region, often the support of amateur divers or cavers is useful for INAH specialists. “We have worked with these groups for decades,” admits Pérez Rivas.
For example, a couple of days ago, the speleologist Ainat Gaia posted on her Twitter account photos of a cave explored on April 19, with the following text: “@INAHmx did NOT record this archaeological remains, the cave was marked and next to him, but they did NOT enter. We did enter and it is exactly on section 5 South of the “Maya” Train. She was referring to the cave called El escondrijo, perfectly measured, georeferenced and mapped
“Is incredible! We have 2 possible theories, either it is a barn to store food because the cave is kept at 26 degrees all year round. The other possibility is what they call a cache, to store important liturgical and ceremonial objects of the elites”, added Gaia.
Hence the importance that the authorities dialogue with the groups that have been asking to be heard, who this Friday will have the opportunity to present their points of view before members of the Senate of the Republic.