The ancient Mayan cities were dangerously contaminated with mercury. When some people think of the ancient Mayan civilization, they think of a spiritual life in harmony with nature, but they may be suffering.
An international team of researchers, surveying the soil of the Mayan ruins, identified a fairly extensive mercury contamination. Studies have shown that during the classical period of the ancient Maya (250 ~ 1100 years), people often used products containing mercury such as paint, which was considered a source of pollution.
This time, a team of Australian Catholic University and University of Cincinnati, among others, investigated all data on soil mercury pollution levels detected so far in ancient Mayan ruins.
Objects include ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico (Chuntukmir), Belize (Marco Gonzalez, Zambi, Aktonkan), Guatemala (La Corona, Tikal, Itza, Piedras Negras, Cancun), Honju Las (Parmarejo), Salvador (Serém), etc.
The results showed that all the remains were contaminated with considerable mercury. Its concentration ranged from 0.016 ppm (Actonkan) to 17.16 ppm (Tikal), and some ruins even far exceeded the toxicity standard of mercury (1 ppm in this study), indicating that the Maya civilization was quite seriously poisoned by mercury.
The team notes that sealed containers of mercury, mainly made of chensa (a type of mineral), have been found in several Mayan ruins, and that it is said to have also found something that used as a coating material.
In the ancient Maya, decoration was decorated with sand and paints and powders containing mercury, which the team speculated seeped out of floors, walls, pottery, etc., into the earth and water. Maya believed that blood-colored paint, made from chensha, was cherished as something sacred, but people did not know that it was life-threatening.
The Maya ruins are still contaminated with mud, and most of the Maya are covered in limestone, making it difficult to extract mercury. Therefore, it is speculated that the mercury and sand found in the Maya ruins were mined in the north or south and imported into the city.
Mercury is a harmful substance to the human body, chronic mercury poisoning can invade the central nervous system and liver and other organs, causing tremor, visual and hearing impairment, paralysis, mental illness and other disorders.
In fact, the Maya suffered from mercury poisoning for a while.
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