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☆ Ancient preserved flamingo egg found in Mexico during airport construction
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view shows a part of an ancient flamingo fossil egg between 8,000 and 12,000 years old was uncovered at a busy construction at the new Felipe Angeles airport, in Zumpango, in the State of Mexico, Mexico, in this photo released and distributed on August 3, 2023 by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)/Handout via... Read moreMEXICO CITY, Aug 3 (Reuters) - An ancient flamingo fossil egg between 8,000 and 12,000 years old was uncovered at a busy construction site for a new airport in Mexico, officials from the Latin American country said. The remarkably preserved egg from the Pleistocene period is incredibly rare. The Pleistocene geological epoch, the most recent Ice Age, began 2.6 million years ago and ended around 11,700 years ago. The flamingo egg fossil was found at a depth of 31 centimeters (1 foot) amid clay and shale during construction at the new Felipe Angeles airport in the State of Mexico, INAH said. The fossil egg implies that the area was the site of a shallow lake between 8,000 and 33,000 years ago, according to Mexican scientists, and that flamingos once thrived in central Mexico.

Persons: Felipe, INAH, Cassandra Garrison, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology, Read, MEXICO CITY, Thomson Locations: Zumpango, State of Mexico, Mexico, MEXICO, Americas, South America, Caribbean, Yucatan, United States

☆ Uncovering a lost Maya city in the jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Once upon a planetShown here are the remains of a building with a staircase that once stood within the ancient city of Ocomtún on the Yucatán Peninsula. Ivan Šprajc/ZRC SAZUA lost Maya city abandoned more than 1,000 years ago has been found in the jungles of Campeche on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Other worldsThis illustration shows what the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will look like in orbit. These cold, faint worlds are incredibly difficult to detect — but not for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Across the universeThe James Webb Space Telescope captured a high-resolution image of Herbig-Haro 46/47, an actively forming pair of stars.

Persons: Indiana Jones, Ivan Šprajc, Juan Carlos Fernandez, Diaz, Fernandez, Nancy Grace, NASA’s, James Webb, Webb, — Carl Sagan’s, Ludwig van Beethoven, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, “ Raiders, SAZU, University of Houston, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Hubble, Telescope, NASA, James Webb Space, DePasquale, ESA, Medical University of Vienna, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ocomtún, Campeche, Mexico’s Yucatán, Vietnam, Southeast Asia

☆ Ocomtun: Laser mapping reveals a forgotten Maya city in the jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Maya civilization is best known for its pyramid temples and impressive stone structures that have been found across southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. Pictured here are the remains of a building with a staircase in the city of Ocumtun. He’s mapped more than 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles) of Central American jungle and been involved in 45 archaeological projects, including the discovery of the largest and oldest Maya temple near Tabasco, Mexico, and tens of thousands of Maya structures and settlements in the Guatemalan jungle. Unraveling OcumtunIt could take years to fully excavate Ocomtun and get a deeper understanding of the site and why it was abandoned. A stone block with a relief, reused in a stairway in the city of Ocumtun.

Persons: Juan Carlos Fernandez, Diaz, he’s, they’ve, Juan Fernandez, Jonathan Burke, ”, Fernandez, LiDAR, Ivan Šprajc —, —, Šprajc, Ivan Šprajc, ” Fernandez, Založba Rokus, Ken, Julie Jones, it’s Organizations: CNN, University of Houston, National Center, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, ZRC, Ocumtun, SAZU, Adria, Kreditna družba, Ars Longa, Julie Jones Charitable Foundation, Milwaukee Audubon Society Locations: Campeche, Yucatan, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, America, Ocumtun, Central American, Tabasco, Guatemalan, Kreditna družba Ljubljana

☆ The Dark Magic Wrought by a Nazi Occultist and a Doomed Horror Film
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Miguel Salazar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SILVER NITRATE, by Silvia Moreno-GarciaSilvia Moreno-Garcia’s dexterity with genre — oscillating between horror, thriller, crime and gothic — is well known by now, as is her penchant for mashing them with historical Mexican settings. Her stories have ranged from a quest narrative and romance in an alternate 1920s Mexico to a reimagining of H.G. She has three loves: horror movies, her white Volkswagen and her childhood friend Tristán Abascal, a tall, handsome, washed-up actor. When he reaches out to reconnect, it means he’s between relationships; this time he also needs to borrow her car. The plot is set into motion only after a long conversation between the two friends and Abel Urueta, Tristán’s neighbor and a once-famous Mexican horror film director.

Persons: Silvia Moreno, Garcia Silvia Moreno, Wells’s, Doctor Moreau ”, ”, Tristán Abascal, James Bond, Abel Urueta, Wilhelm Ewers, Ewers, “ Organizations: Volkswagen Locations: Mexico, Mexico City, Montserrat, Nazi

☆ Lost ancient Mayan city discovered in the dense, remote jungle of Mexico by archaeologists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient Mayan city in Mexico. The lead researcher said that it must have been an important site between 250 AD and 1000 AD. The previously unknown village was discovered in the Yucatán Peninsula by a team from the Archeology Council of the National Institute of Anthropology and History. The site sprawls has several pyramid-like structures measuring around 50 feet in height, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said. Sprajc said that the site most likely underwent changes between 800 and 1000 AD and then experienced the collapse of the Lowland Maya civilization in the 10th century.

Persons: sprawls, —, Ivan Sprajc, Ṡprajc, Sprajc Organizations: Service, Archeology, National Institute of Anthropology, Mexico's National Institute for Anthropology, University of Houston Locations: Mexico, Central, Campeche, Lowland, Guatemala, Belize

☆ Ancient Maya city discovered in Mexican jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone columns, three plazas with "imposing buildings" and other structures arranged in almost-concentric circles, the INAH institute said. INAH said the city, which it has named Ocomtun - meaning "stone column" in the Yucatec Maya language - would have been an important center for the peninsula's central lowland region between 250 and 1000 AD. It is located in the Balamku ecological reserve on the country's Yucatan Peninsula and was discovered during a search of a largely unexplored stretch of jungle larger than Luxembourg. The Maya civilization, known for its advanced mathematical calendars, spanned southeast Mexico and parts of Central America. Pre-Hispanic ball games, widespread throughout the Maya region, consist of passing a rubber ball representing the sun across a court without the use of hands and getting it through a small stone hoop.

Persons: INAH, Ivan Sprajc, Sprajc, Sarah Morland, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology, Mexico's, Read, MEXICO CITY, Central America, Thomson Locations: Campeche, Mexico, MEXICO, Yucatan, Luxembourg, Central

☆ Mexico to announce work visa program for Central Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 22 (Reuters) - Mexico will present a program this week to give Central Americans temporary visas to work on public infrastructure projects, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday. Such projects require more people such as welders, iron-workers and engineers, Lopez Obrador told his regular daily news conference. "We need a workforce for these projects, especially if it's skilled labor," Lopez Obrador said. Lopez Obrador has long pushed for investment in Central America to stem the migration of thousands of people every year fleeing poverty and violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. He has also sought to boost development in the impoverished southern region of Mexico, which sits near the border with Guatemala.

Others can trigger global extinctions,But how big of an asteroid does it take to damage cities, states, countries, and the planet? Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. Some angry space rocks, like the recent Chelyabinsk meteorite that exploded over Russia, are big enough to shatter windows and crumble walls. A handful can trigger global extinctions, like the asteroid that smashed into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago. But how big of an asteroid does it take to damage cities, states, countries, and the planet?

☆ The true cost of Mexico's Maya Train
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Noah Lewis | Robert Leslie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Mexico is rushing to complete a new train line around the Yucatan Peninsula that will link tourist resorts with cities and famous Maya sites. But large areas of tropical forest have been cut down, and activists say a unique network of sinkholes called cenotes are also at risk.

☆ Two Americans Take a Chance in Playa del Carmen, Mexico: Which Condo Did They Buy?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Debra Kamin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Morien Wark and Zoelle Appell had long been fond of Mexico, particularly Playa del Carmen, a coastal resort town where they had spent many vacations over the years. By New Year’s Eve, they were in Playa del Carmen. “This move was always something that was in the back of our mind,” Mr. Wark said. Unlike her husband, Ms. Appell does not speak Spanish, but the fast-growing expatriate community made it easier for her to get by. Late last year, after selling their Portland house for $650,000, Mr. Wark and Ms. Appell set up a fideicomiso and began house hunting in Playa del Carmen.

☆ Mexico president self-isolating after catching COVID-19: minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is receiving medical treatment and self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, the country's Interior Minister Adan Augusto said Monday in a morning press conference. Augusto said that Lopez Obrador was at the presidential headquarters and that the president had shown cold-like symptoms since Saturday. He denied a media report that the president had suffered a heart attack. This is the third known COVID-19 diagnosis for Lopez Obrador, 69, who had a serious heart attack in 2013. He reported mild symptoms from both of his previous bouts of COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic.

☆ 1,000-year-old Mayan 'scoreboard' for ancient soccer-like game discovered in Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ancient stone "scoreboard" was discovered at an archeological site in Mexico earlier this week. The stone depicts two figures playing an ancient soccer-like ball game, experts said. The circular relic was discovered at the Mayan Chichen Itza site in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. A worker shows a circular-shaped Mayan scoreboard used for a ball game found at Chichen Itza's archaeological site during a news conference, in Merida, Mexico April 11, 2023. Mesoamerican people played the ball game as a form of traditional practice, and it is thought to have had ritual connotations, per Reuters.

☆ At Mexico's Chichen Itza, archaeologists discover Mayan scoreboard
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Mexican archaeologists found a circular-shaped Mayan scoreboard used for a ball game at Chichen Itza's archaeological site, Mexican Anthropology and History Institute (INAH), in this handout picture released on April 10, 2023. INAH/Handout via REUTERSMEXICO CITY, April 11 (Reuters) - A stone scoreboard used in an ancient soccer-like ball game has been discovered at the famed Mayan Chichen Itza archaeological site in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, archaeologists said this week. "In this Mayan site, it is rare to find hieroglyphic writing, let alone a complete text," said Francisco Perez, one of the archaeologists coordinating the investigations in the Chichanchob complex, also called Casa Colorada. The ball game was a traditional practice of Mesoamerican peoples and is believed to have had ritual undertones. The Chichen Itza complex, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is one of the main archaeological centers of the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula.

☆ Mexico's president is being mocked for sharing a photo that he claimed was of a woodland spirit creature similar to an elf
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Mexico's president shared a photo on social media of what he said was an elf-like woodland creature. His widely viewed tweet sparked confused and mocking responses. Journalist Mauricio Schwarz responded to the tweet to debunk the sighting, telling the president that the image has actually circulated on social media since February 2021. López Obrador, who has been president since 2018, has previously expressed an interest in and respect for indigenous cultures. The tweet spread widely in Mexico, being viewed over three million times at the time of writing and sparking confused and mocking responses.

☆ At Mexico's Chichen Itza site, researchers discover ancient 'elite' residences
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Lorenzo Hernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A general view of "Casa de La Luna" during a media tour to Chichen Viejo at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in Piste, Mexico February 10, 2023. Archaeologist Francisco Perez Ruiz said there were no known residential groups in Chichen Itza, meaning the housing complex would represent "the first residential group where a ruler lived with his entire family." The area, known as Chichen Viejo, is expected to be integrated in the near future into the visitor area of the Chichen Itza archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "There must be more residential groups that have not been explored yet. Around 2 million people visit Chichen Itza site in southeast Mexico each year, according to official data.

☆ Mexico’s Maya Train will need over 6,500 permanent officers to guard tracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Defense Department said the project will require over 6,500 soldiers and National Guard officers to permanently guard its tracks and stations, out of the country’s total 166,000-member combined force. In comparison, that is more than double the number of officers assigned to drug eradication nationwide, and more officers than are assigned to all but three of Mexico’s 32 states. However, the government hasn’t expressed any public concerns about sabotage on the Maya Train. The 950-mile (1,500-kilometer) Maya Train line is meant to run in a rough loop around the Yucatan Peninsula, connecting beach resorts and archaeological sites. Originally projected to cost around $8 billion, the train line now appears likely to rise to between $11 billion and $15 billion.

☆ Scientists unearth megaraptors, feathered dinosaur fossils in Chile's Patagonia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Marion Giraldo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Scientists in Chile's Patagonia region are unearthing the southernmost dinosaur fossils recorded outside Antarctica, including remains of megaraptors that would have dominated the area's food chain before their mass extinction. The specimens, according to University of Chile researcher Jared Amudeo, had some characteristics not present in Argentine or Brazilian counterparts. "The enormous variation we are seeing, the biological diversity, was also responding to very powerful environmental stimuli," Leppe said. "This world was already in crisis before (the meteorite) and this is evidenced in the rocks of the Rio de las Chinas Valley," he said. Reporting by Marion Giraldo; Writing by Sarah Morland, Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mexico's Mayan Train a threat to ancient areas, scientists warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

MEXICO CITY — Parts of Mexico’s remote southern jungles have barely changed since the time of the ancient Maya. But the railway and its hasty construction also critically endanger pristine wilderness and ancient cave systems beneath the jungle floor, droves of scientists and environmental activists say. Construction costs are seen at up to $20 billion, López Obrador said in July. “The Mayan Train project is of course safe, monitored and regulated by the environmental authorities as has happened up to now,” the agency told Reuters. A spokesman for López Obrador did not respond to a request for comment.

Bitcoin balances on crypto exchanges - where retail investors typically transact - have fallen to around 2.3 million from its 2020 all-time high of 3.1 million, exchange Bitfinex said. "There are signs that a significant number of retail investors have been discouraged to the point of exiting crypto entirely," Bitfinex analysts said. DAVID VS GOLIATHCrypto retail investors losing money is nothing new. A study from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), conducted between 2015 and 2022, estimated that 73% to 81% likely lost money on their investments in cryptocurrencies. Eloisa Marchesoni, a trader who said she had about $2,000 on FTX she was unable to withdraw, is sure crypto will retain its attraction for smaller investors.

☆ Could Mexico be on its way to electing its first woman president?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

MEXICO CITY — The most historic legacy of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a left-leaning resource nationalist who casts his administration as a turning point in the annals of Mexico, may be to pave the way for the country’s first woman leader. President Lopez Obrador’s popularity stems from his personal, austere, simple way of governing,” Sheinbaum said. Many of Lopez Obrador’s biggest public works look increasingly like they will not be completed on his watch. One cloud hanging over MORENA domination is Mexico City, a bastion of the Mexican left which unites the president, Sheinbaum and Ebrard, who succeeded Lopez Obrador as mayor. In May 2021, a Mexico City metro overpass collapsed, killing or injuring dozens of people.

☆ Hurricane Lisa makes landfall in Belize in Central America
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Lisa made landfall Wednesday near Belize City, in the Central American nation of Belize. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Lisa had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph at landfall. The storm’s center was about 10 miles southwest of Belize City and moving west at 12 mph. The hurricane center warned of the danger of flooding and mudslides from heavy rains. Far out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Martin rose to hurricane strength Wednesday, but forecasters said it posed no immediate threat to land.

☆ Mexico succession puts scientist on path to be first woman president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

[1/6] Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum greets supporters after attending a supervision of the Canal Nacional rehabilitation project, in the Iztapalapa neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico July 21, 2022. Still, they are quick to forecast both would be more encouraging to investors than Lopez Obrador. President Lopez Obrador's popularity stems from his personal, austere, simple way of governing," Sheinbaum said. Many of Lopez Obrador's biggest public works look increasingly like they will not be completed on his watch. In May 2021, a Mexico City metro overpass collapsed, killing or injuring dozens of people.

☆ Hurricane Lisa edges close to Belize barrier reef, major port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lisa will strike coastal Belize Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted, edging very close to the country's barrier reef before it moves across northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. Weather models show Lisa's heavy rains and dangerous winds likely targeting some top tourist destinations in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico's Caribbean-facing Yucatan Peninsula, dotted by beach resorts, pristine coral reefs and Mayan ruins. The Category 1 hurricane was about 35 miles (60 km) east-southeast of Belize City, a major port, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 km per hour), the Miami-based NHC said in a bulletin. Belize's national emergency organization said borders would close at 2 p.m. (2000 GMT), with ports and airports shuttering. President Alejandro Giammattei of neighboring Guatemala told a news conference food rations were being sent to vulnerable areas.

☆ Hurricane Lisa strikes coast near top Belize port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jose Sanchez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BELIZE CITY, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lisa bore down on Belize on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported in a bulletin, predicting it will later move across the jungles of northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. Weather models show Lisa's heavy rainfall and powerful winds will likely target tourist destinations in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico's Caribbean-facing Yucatan Peninsula, dotted by beach resorts, pristine coral reefs and Mayan ruins. The eye of Lisa, now at Category 1 strength, is currently located about 5 miles (8 km) south of Belize City, the tiny Caribbean country's commercial hub, as it churns westward. Palm trees buckled as winds picked up in the Caribbean port city, as residents reported water and power outages plus some flooding. The Belize government's emergency services announced on Wednesday afternoon a state of emergency including a curfew across two districts covering large swathes of its Caribbean coast through Thursday.

[1/3] A graphic illustrating new details, uncovered using LiDAR laser technology, of the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul, Mexico, in this undated handout image. Proyecto Arqueologico Bajo Laberinto/INAH/Handout via REUTERSMEXICO CITY, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A laser-powered study of the sprawling metropolis of Calakmul in southern Mexico offers tantalizing new evidence that it may have been the most crowded ancient Maya urban center during the civilization's classical peak some 1,300 years ago. The new LIDAR study announced late Wednesday by Mexican antiquities institute INAH covers the jungle-covered ruins of once-mighty Calakmul, located in the central lowlands of the Yucatan peninsula near the Guatemalan border. Reese-Taylor noted the new preliminary maps of the barely three-month old data show extensive residential apartment complexes clustered around temples and possible markets. Previous estimates suggested the city's population likely reached some 50,000 inhabitants, but the new study could force a recalculation.

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