Chan Hol, part of the Toh ha cave system, is a

cenote A cenote ( or ; ) is a natural pit cave, pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The regional term is specifically associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where cenotes were commonly ...

and submerged cave system in

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, of interest to

paleoanthropologists Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship ...

. The remains of three prehistoric human fossils were discovered within the cave system. Along with Eve of Naharon, Naia, the Man of El Templo and the , the three fossils at Chan Hol are among several ancient Paleoamerican skeletons found in the submerged cave systems of the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

around

Tulum, Quintana Roo Tulum () is the largest community in the municipality of Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is located on the Caribbean coast of the state, near the site of the archaeological ruins of Tulum. History As recently as the early 1990s, Tulum was a ...

Description

Chan Hol is derived from

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

, meaning "little hole". The Chan Hol cave system extends over in length. The entrance, via the cenote, is located around away from Tulum and around from the modern coastline. As the sea level was over lower than it is today, the cave system was dry during the Late Pleistocene. During the Late Pleistocene, the Yucatán region was likely composed of dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, grassland and even desert.

Human fossils

The skeletons of first two ancient Paleoamericans were discovered within the Chan Hol cave system. Both skeletons exhibit

sinodont In anthropology, Sinodonty and Sundadonty are two patterns of features widely found in the dentitions of different populations in East Asia and Southeast Asia. These two patterns were identified by anthropologist Christy G. Turner II as being ...

dental morphology.

Chan Hol I

The first fossil, ''Chan Hol I'', was discovered in 2006 by Alexandra and Thorsten Kampe at a location in the cave system around northeast of the cenote entrance, at a depth of around underwater. Nicknamed ''El Joven'', the fossil is dated to around 9194-8792 BP. The skeleton had fossilized while the cave system was still dry. The skeleton shows evidence of intentional placement of the dead body.

Chan Hol II

The second fossil, ''Chan Hol II'', was discovered in 2009 by Harry Gust at a location in the cave system around southwest of the cenote entrance, at a depth of around underwater. In February 2012, photos of the skeleton spread on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. In March 2012, the site was vandalized and looted. Most of the skeletal remains, including the skull, were stolen. In October 2012, researchers collected the leftover fossil fragments from the site. Although ''Chan Hol II'' was given the nickname ''La Niña'', later

osteological Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, func ...

analysis shows that the remains likely belonged to a young male. The fossil is dated to around 11,311 BP. The individual had died while the cave system was still dry.

Chan Hol III

The third fossil, ''Chan Hol III'', was discovered in 2016 by divers Iván Hernández and Vicente Fito led by Jerónimo Avilés Olguín. The skeleton was discovered in a low cave tunnel in fresh water at water depth, at diving distance from the cenote entrance. Nicknamed ''Ixchel'' after the Maya goddess of fertility. The fossil is a 30-year-old woman who lived around 10000 years ago. The skull shows evidence of various traumas and possibly signs of a disease that may have driven her tribe to kill her. According to craniometric measurements, the skull is believed to conform to the mesocephalic pattern, like the other three skulls found in

Tulum Tulum (, yua, Tulu'um) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Carib ...

caves. Three different scars on the skull of the woman showed that she was hit with something hard and her skull bones were broken.Her skull also had crater-like deformations and tissue deformities that appeared to be caused by a bacterial relative of syphilis. According to study lead researcher Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, "It really looks as if this woman had a very hard time and an extremely unhappy end of her life. Obviously, this is speculative, but given the traumas and the pathological deformations on her skull, it appears a likely scenario that she may have been expelled from her group and was killed in the cave, or was left in the cave to die there”. The newly discovered skeleton was away from the Chan Hol 2 site. Although archaeologists assumed the divers found the remains of the missing Chan Hol 2, the analysis proved that these assumptions were erroneous in a short time. Stinnesbeck compared the new bones to old photographs of Chan Hol 2 and showed that the two skeletons represent different individuals. Due to their distinctive features, study co-researcher Samuel Rennie suggest the existence of at least two morphologically diverse groups of people living separately in

during the transition from

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

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* * * * * {{Navbox prehistoric caves Archaeological sites in Quintana Roo Caves of Mexico