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ID 12
Project Main Image
Org ID CINDAQ - Centro Investigador del Sistema Acuifero de Quintana Roo A.C.
Project Name Sagitario La Mina
Project URL https://www.cindaq.org/copy-of-sagitario-la-mina
Project Description In 2017, CINDAQ's dive team found evidence of ancient mining activity while exploring and mapping new tunnels of an underwater cave near Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The Maya are known to have actively mined pigment and other minerals from the caves of the Yucatan Peninsula, but the ancient mine... more
In 2017, CINDAQ's dive team found evidence of ancient mining activity while exploring and mapping new tunnels of an underwater cave near Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The Maya are known to have actively mined pigment and other minerals from the caves of the Yucatan Peninsula, but the ancient mines discovered by the CINDAQ team are now submerged, indicating that such mineral exploitation occurred thousands of years ago. At the end of the last Ice Age, intrepid miners ventured deep into these tunnels with torches in hand. The navigational markers, mining debris, fire pits and excavation pits they left behind are now entirely underwater. In coordination with INAH-SAS, CINDAQ's team performed more than 100 dives, totaling nearly 600 diver hours underwater to create a detailed map of the site. An additional 100 diver hours were dedicated to acquiring the nearly 18,000 images used for the 3D photogrammetric models, which are enabling researchers to “virtually” access and study this remote subterranean mining complex. The results were published in 2020 in Science Advances.
Latitude (WGS84) 20.6000
Longitude (WGS84) -87.4000
Record Created 2022-07-28 19:54:41
Record Creator cindaq
Location Mexico
Project SDGs NULL
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35 Sagitario La Mina cindaq.org 12 2022-07-28 17:02:54 cindaq