An image depicting an ancient Mayan temple.
SciTechDaily has a story about an unexpected discovery in some Mayan ruins. It shouldn't be surprising that pollution isn't a modern invention. The Romans used lead extensively and maybe have suffered lead poisoning. Now, some researchers at the Australian Catholic University have discovered mercury pollution in some of the cities of the Mayan civilization in ancient Mexico. The Maya used cinnabar and mercury paints and powders for decoration. The discovery was documented in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science.
Mesoamerica’s ancient Maya cities never cease to amaze visitors. However, an unexpected danger lurks under the soil’s surface: mercury pollution. Researchers have found in a review article published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science that this pollution is not modern: it is the result of the Maya’s widespread usage of mercury and mercury-containing products between 250 and 1100 CE. There are areas where the pollution is so severe that it might pose a health risk to unsuspecting archaeologists today.
Lead author Dr. Duncan Cook, an associate professor of Geography at the Australian Catholic University, said: “Mercury pollution in the environment is usually found in contemporary urban areas and industrial landscapes. Discovering mercury buried deep in soils and sediments in ancient Maya cities is difficult to explain until we begin to consider the archeology of the region which tells us that the Maya were using mercury for centuries.”
