December 12, 2022
Oxkintok is in the Puuc region of the Yucatán and emerged as a major centre during the Early Classic and Terminal Classic periods. They constructed large pyramids and decorated their city with an abundance of richly detailed iconography and hieroglyphics.
The city was abandoned sometime around AD 1500. There is no evidence that warfare or famine caused the abandonment.
INAH announced that during excavation work for the Maya Train, a 1,525-kilometre intercity railway in Mexico that will traverse the Yucatán Peninsula, researchers found a headless life-size Maya statue. Nicknamed “Yum keeb” — the god of the phallus or fertility, the statue is made from limestone and measures 1.65 metres tall. The statue was possibly used as an offering to the gods and was found lying on his back near a hieroglyph-laden staircase that was being cleaned and restored. Experts believe that the statue represents a human figure and depicts a prisoner of war captured in conflict.
During a press conference by INAH, archaeologists also announced that a survey which extends 254 kilometres, also detected more than 1,730 pre-Hispanic constructions, ranging from simple domestic architecture to monumental constructions for civil and ceremonial activities.
Heritage Daily has the report here;
MIKE RUGGERI'S ANCIENT MAYA NEWS 