Rare, ancient Maya canoe found in Mexico's Yucatan

A wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be over 1,000 years old has turned up in southern Mexico, officials said on Friday, part of archeological work accompanying the construction of a major new tourist train.

The extremely rare canoe was found almost completely intact, submerged in a fresh-water pool known as a cenote, thousands of which dot Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, near the ruins of Chichen Itza, once a major Maya city featuring elaborately carved temples and towering pyramids.

A view of a freshwater pool known as a cenote, where a wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be over a thousand years old was found during the archeological work accompanying the construction of a controversial new tourist train, in the state of Yucatan, in this handout released on October 29, 2021. Photo :Reuters

Measuring a little over 5 feet (1.6 meters) in length and 2-1/2 feet (80 cm) wide, the canoe was possibly used to transport water from the cenote or deposit ritual offerings, according to a statement from Mexican antiquities institute INAH.

The institute described the extraordinary find as "the first complete canoe like this in the Maya area," adding that experts from Paris' Sorbonne University will help with an analysis of the well-preserved wood to pin-point its age and type.

A three-dimensional model of the canoe will also be commissioned, the statement added, to facilitate further study and allow for replicas to be made.

A view of a freshwater pool known as a cenote, where a wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be over a thousand years old was found during the archeological work accompanying the construction of a controversial new tourist train, in the state of Yucatan, in this handout released on October 29, 2021. Photo: Reuters