A controversial highway in Chiapas whose construction has been delayed for nearly 20 years has received the go-ahead after residents of five municipalities approved the project via a nonbinding referendum On Monday morning, Governor Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar announced the results in a social media post The Route of the Maya Cultures has been approved by the people!”  Ramírez thanked the public for their participation during “an exemplary day of voting” on Sunday adding that the highway was approved with 39,321 votes in favor and only 919 against The highway will connect the former state capital, San Cristóbal de las Casas, with the town of Palenque, known as the gateway to ancient Mayan ruins. Palenque, founded in 1567 and populated primarily by Indigenous Maya communities, is also the home of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024). Residents of the municipalities of Palenque, Ocosingo, Chilón, Salto de Agua and Tumbalá took part in a public consultation organized by the state government Approval was sought only for the section of the highway between Palenque and Ocosingo State officials said that ballots were provided in Spanish as well as in the Indigenous languages of tzeltal and chol so as to “promote the full participation of all those who wish to make their voices heard.” public consultations are required any time the government plans to take legislative or administrative measures affecting the country’s Indigenous groups and their land The new highway would replace Highway 199 which originates in the central highlands and traverses the jungle in the northeast part of the state Ocosingo is only 68 kilometers south of Palenque but Highway 199 winds its way through the jungle for 119 kilometers to reach Palenque The old highway also connects Ocosingo to San Cristóbal de las Casas to the southwest but it takes roughly two and a half hours to drive the 95 kilometers Since the project was first presented nearly two decades ago successive state and federal governments have defended the highway by saying it would provide economic benefits to the poorest parts of the state “We are fully committed to the people of Chiapas,” Governor Ramírez said in February especially those who are most vulnerable.” Ramírez added that the highway would remain in public hands and that there would be no private concessions granted Critics of the long-delayed highway proposal argue that construction will destroy the environment and strip local residents of their land and its resources They also claim that residents have not been fully informed about the proposal and its consequences Last month, the regional organization Movement in Defense of Life and Land (Modevite), which has been campaigning against the project for 12 years, published a letter it had submitted to the state government in which it described the project as another example of “colonialism and racism that favors transnational interests Modevite said that while it was not opposed to the concept of progress “we are against the violation of our rights; [we are] against imposition and authoritarianism that benefits the few in and harms the land that has been the source of life for our peoples.” the Ocosingo-based bus company Grupo Único Cotaco calling it “an important step toward modernization and regional development” that would boost tourism and benefit the local economy ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Privacy Policy • © 2002-2011 WGBH Educational Foundation either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content your cheese repertoire may extend beyond British Cheddar and Spanish Manchego but chances are you haven't heard of Nagelkaas a clove-studded Gouda from the Netherlands a soft goat cheese from Australia encrusted with dried green weaver ants (they taste like fresh citrus) not to mention festivals and even private tours to meet makers This list offers a sampling to get you started whether you're excited by indigenous finds or inventive flavors seek out cheese shops wherever you go to ask "What's local?" You'll be amazed by your dairy discoveries This unusual artisan cheese from Chiapas is made by stuffing a soft cheese into a firm cheese that forms a crust to form a sphere it must be made from the raw milk of local Zebu-Brown Swiss cows When Grey Owl was ordered for a dinner party surrounding Prince Harry's wedding in 2018, it made international news. Besides being one of Duchess Meghan Markle's favorites Grey Owl is a stunning soft goat cheese with an ashy rind from a small creamery run by husband-and-wife team Ginette Bégin and Mario Quirion Gold explorers started artisan cheese production here during the 18th century Queijo do Serro is still made by hand from native starter cultures Often sold fresh or aged for eight to 60 days Serro cheese can go from mellow and yogurty This cheese has been inducted into Slow Food's Ark of Taste Every round of this delicate raw-milk goat cheese from southwestern France is rolled in ash then imprinted with the Occitan cross—a symbol of the Cathars a medieval religious group that settled the area around the time of the Crusades This is one of the most beautiful cheeses to see (and eat—it's fresh and herbaceous tasting) in person Look for it in cheese shops around Paris and London Piacentinu (pee-uh-chen-tin-oo) was designed by a king Saffron was thought to be uplifting to the spirit or you may see its golden light from time to time at cheese counters in the United States What looks like a translucent golden doughnut is actually a pungent ring that tastes like gooey sautéed garlic. Originally made in the area around the city of Olomouc, this centuries-old recipe is now protected by the European Union A museum devoted to "Olomouc cheese" is in the town of Loštice This spiced cheese made in earthenware pots is thought to be similar to cheeses found in pharaohs' tombs dating back to 3200 BCE The recipe calls for covering cheese curds with whey and letting the mixture ferment in jars sealed with mud paste for months or even years pungent mixture is still made mostly by home cheesemakers in Egypt Byaslag is a ricotta like cheese made in large blocks that are wrapped in cloth and pressed under piles of rocks to squeeze out moisture resulting in a mild-tasting dry cheese that can be eaten fresh or aged it's popular at Mongolian weddings or as a travel staple for nomads on the go Chèvre encrusted with dried green ants and dried lemon myrtle leaves Maker Kris Lloyd of Woodside Cheese Wrights claims that the ants add a citrusy kick (not to mention a delicate crunch) to her award-winning chèvre you'll have to pop over to South Australia to find this gem Made only during Japan's cherry blossom season in April and May Sakura is a tiny Camembert-like cheese topped with a pickled cherry blossom These delicate wheels are aged for 10 days on cherry blossom leaves the cheese was designed to look like the Japanese flag Adapted from Madame Fromage's Adventures in Cheeseby Tenaya Darlington Newsletters in your inbox See all Volume 9 - 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02598 The dynamics of bacteria community of “Bola de Ocosingo” cheese a Mexican artisanal raw milk cheese was investigated by high-throughput sequencing (454 pyrosequencing) cheese at 50 and 110 days of ripening) were collected at dry (March-June) and rainy season (August-November) from three producers located in Chiapas raw milk contained high bacterial diversity which was reduced throughout cheese manufacture in two productions an important increase during cheese ripening was observed probably due to cross-contamination Species such as Streptococcus thermophilus plantarum from which potential probiotic strains may be obtained varying its prevalence from one producer to another low proportions of Escherichia coli/Shigella flexnerii were detected in almost all processes could not be recovered by traditional methodology indicating presence of non-cultivable cells This work provides insights into bacteria communities of Bola de Ocosingo cheese for starter culture development many of which are reported to provide health related benefits and the usefulness of high-throughput sequencing to evidence cross-contamination during processing high-throughput sequencing was used to describe dynamics of bacterial communities during processing of Bola de Ocosingo cheese Bola de Ocosingo cheese was made with raw milk from Braunvieh obtaining cream that was added to the batch process in a portion of 4 Kg of cream per 100 L of milk The mixture was curdled using 2.5 mL of commercial calf rennet 1:10,000 (Cuamex Mexico) for 5–12 h without addition of CaCl2 Dry curd was transferred to a new muslin sack and this step repeated for 50 days to obtain a ripened curd Curd was then crumbled and mixed with butter only if needed in a portion of 0.3–0.5 Kg per 10 Kg of ripened curd obtaining a texture similar to double-cream cheese shaped in balls (200–300 g) and covered with pasta filata cheese obtained from recently skimmed milk which was acidified with vinegar then boiling water was added to melt the curd It can be sold fresh (50 days of ripening) or aged an additional 2 months (110 days of ripening) distribution and storage in the market is at room temperature the final product is sold without cover other than the hardened pasta filata Twenty-four samples were obtained from three producers (A collected at dry (March-June) and rainy seasons (August-November) fresh cheese (curd at 50 days of ripening mixed with butter and covered with pasta filata) and ripened cheese (110 days of ripening) from the same batch was obtained from each manufacture and season Samples were stored at -20°C and transported to the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro for analysis Total genomic DNA was extracted as previously reported (Aldrete-Tapia et al., 2014) consisting in a pre-treatment to remove food lipids Cells were subjected to lysis by heat and powdered glass and DNA was purified with phenol-chloroform A total of 160,617 quality reads with average length of 280 bp (range = 264 to 327) were obtained from 24 dairy samples after Mothur pipeline. Number of sequence reads and OTUs, as well as diversity, richness and coverage estimators (calculated with an identity at 3% sequence similarity level) are shown in Table 1. Rarefaction curves approached a plateau, meaning most microbial diversity was captured within the number of samples (Supplementary Figure S1) Good’s coverage indicated a satisfactory overall sampling with levels above 99% diversity index (inverse Simpson) and coverage for 16S rRNA sequencing of dairy samples from Bola de Ocosingo cheese production Higher richness and diversity were observed in samples obtained in the rainy season Chao1 and Inverse Simpson estimators decreased with steps in the cheese process an increase in both estimators was observed during manufacture from manufacturer A and B in the rainy season Pyrosequencing revealed the bacterial community at species level present in dairy samples collected during Bola de Ocosingo cheese production in two seasons (dry and rainy) among three producers (Figure 1) Relative abundance of species in dairy samples collected from Bola de Ocosingo cheese production Bacterial composition differed across samples type (P < 0.05) as main effect (Table 2) in which a reduction in the number of species was observed some of them becoming predominant at final stages of processing the interaction between producer and season was statistically significant (P < 0.05) in which the predominance of certain species among samples analyzed between producers at the two seasons had an effect PERMANOVA results of Bray-Curtis dissimilarities for main bacteria species found in Bola Cheese production process during two season from three producers In raw milk, the dominant species included bacteria that naturally occur in milk, such as Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactococcus lactis (Table 3) Macrococcus caseolyticus was found in low abundance with exception of the sample obtained from manufacturer C in the rainy season environmental microorganisms were observed there was sporadic occurrence of species known to cause mastitis (i.e. Enterobacter aerogenes or Routella planticola Predominant species identified using BLAST from pooled sequences lactis was in all samples (1.54 to 66.96 %) Curd sample from manufacturer A in dry season contained a high proportion of E plantarum) were different across manufacturers and seasons thermophilus dominated in cheese at 50 days (44.02 to 80.48%) and 110 days (32.37 to 94.67 %) of ripening among all manufacturers in both seasons in cheese at 50 days of ripening made by manufacturer B in the rainy season and in cheese at 110 days made by manufacturer A in the rainy season there was low abundance of this bacteria (0.023 and 5.43 as Bola de Ocosingo cheese production includes several processing steps where other raw materials are added by hand such as adding butter during curd ripening with hand-mixing and raw milk-derived pasta filata used to cover the soft curd and making a round shape cheese These manufacturing practices represent contamination opportunities and could explain the presence of other bacteria (e.g. Acidovorax sp.) as observed in manufacturers A and B during the rainy season Lactobacillus plantarum was detected in high proportion in some batches, principally during the aging process. This species is a member of the so-called Non-starter LAB (NSLAB) group; NSLAB introduce variability in the ripening process, improving sensory characteristics, but also producing defects (Beresford et al., 2001; Settanni and Moschetti, 2010) Probiotic effect has been reported for some strains of species detected in bola cheese such as L. helveticus (Giraffa, 2014) and potential probiotic properties of L. delbrueckii, S. themophilus (Mater et al., 2006; Guglielmotti et al., 2007), L. lactis (Beck et al., 2015) and L. plantarum (Blana et al., 2014) many LAB isolated from the production of Bola de Ocosingo cheese inhibited the growth of Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes in plate wells assays (data not shown) which could possibly validate the production of antimicrobial metabolites This study provides an insight in microbial community dynamics during Bola de Ocosingo cheese production plantarum dominated during the cheese processing all reported with potential probiotic effect Prevalence of these bacteria differed across manufacturers and seasons which could account to differences in final product quality flexnerii in very low proportions even in the ripened cheese detection by traditional methodology was negative to achieve homogeneous cheese quality would be desirable to develop a starter culture by selecting strains with technological characteristics and health benefits which could be added to pasteurized milk to generate the traditional characteristics of Bola de Ocosingo cheese analyzed,and discussed the data and wrote the manuscript This work wassupported by CONACYT-SAGARPA (Project: 2010-01-144591) The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest The authors are grateful to Shane Powell for technical assistance and Bola de Ocosingo cheese manufacturers for facilities granted for sample collection The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02598/full#supplementary-material FIGURE S1 | Rarefaction curves of the pyrosequencing reads from dairy samples collected from three producers (A–C) of Ocosingo Bola cheese in dry season (continuous line) and rainy season (discontinuous line) Microbiological and biochemical characteristics of Canestrato Pugliese cheese made from raw milk pasteurized milk or by heating the curd in hot whey High-throughput sequencing of microbial communities in Poro cheese determined by culture-dependent and -independent approaches Inoculated fermentation of green olives with potential probiotic Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus plantarum starter cultures isolated from industrially fermented olives The effects of combined dietary probiotics Lactococcus lactis BFE920 and Lactobacillus plantarum FGL0001 on innate immunity and disease resistance in oliver flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) CrossRef Full 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to different stages of cow lactation “Remake” by high-throughput sequencing of the microbiota involved in the production of water buffalo mozzarella cheese Dynamics of bacterial communities during the ripening process of different Croatian cheese types derived from raw ewe’s milk cheeses Lactobacillus helveticus: importance in food and health PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity of Streptococcus thermophilus strains isolated from dairy products Probiotic potential of Lactobacillus delbrueckii strains and their phage resistant mutants Google Scholar Proteomic study of proteolysis during ripening of Cheddar cheese made from milk over a lactation cycle New insights in the molecular biology and physiology of Streptococcus thermophilus revealed by comparative genomics Lactic acid bacteria as functional starter cultures for the food fermentation industry CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Novel insights into the microbiology of 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Montserrat Hernández-Iturriaga, bW9udHNoaUB1YXEubXg= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish April 4 (UPI) -- Mexican police said authorities are investigating the robbery of 25 German tourists and three Mexicans near the Chiapas state's municipality of Ocosingo by seven hooded men armed with guns and knives As the bus moved slowly along an unstable stretch of road gunmen threatened to kill the bus driver so he would not drive off The men boarded the bus and robbed passengers Police reached the tourists shortly after the robbery the Chiapas attorney general's office said it would reinforce surveillance operations in all roads particularly ahead of upcoming Easter celebrations have blocked the highway to Palenque since Wednesday to express their discontent about an unresolved land dispute Disgruntled residents used heavy machinery to dig at least one trench across Federal Highway 199 and also utilized felled trees to block the highway in the same location in El Contento a large municipality in eastern Chiapas that borders Guatemala The blockade was erected to protest an agrarian conflict that dates back to 1994 Land disputes are common in the southern state The Chiapas Attorney General’s Office said Thursday that the protesters had disarmed and detained the Ocosingo municipal police director They also seized two police vehicles and four pickup trucks owned by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) who were transporting medicines and medical supplies The highway blockade has affected chiapanecos as well as tourists on Holy Week vacations in the southern state Ocosingo is about 120 kilometers south of Palenque home to the Mayan archaeological site of the same name and just under 100 kilometers northeast of San Cristóbal de las Casas One tourist complained about the blockade on social media we had a bad experience yesterday on the Ocosingo-Palenque highway,” Facebook user Sharo Macc wrote Thursday adding that she had to travel on a dirt road “that doesn’t appear on Google Maps” in order to continue her trip through Chiapas who is traveling with 28 people on a bus tour that left León told Reforma that their plan to visit Palenque was stymied by the blockade With reports from Reforma  OCOSINGO, Mexico (AP) — Members and supporters of the Zapatista indigenous rebel movement celebrated the 30th anniversary of their brief armed uprising in southern Mexico on Monday even as their social base erodes and violence spurred by drug cartels encroaches on their territory Hundreds gathered in the remote community of Dolores Hidalgo in the preceding days to mark the occasion Some 1,500 young Zapatistas donning uniforms — black balaclavas green caps and red kerchiefs — stood in formation listening to speeches early Monday Subcommander Moises — his nom de guerre — called for the Zapatistas to continue organizing themselves to fight to maintain their autonomy because alone we have found the new path that we are going to follow,” Moises said He noted the continuing need to defend their communities from violence “We don’t need to kill soldiers and bad governments but if they come we’re going to defend ourselves.” it was Subcommander Moises who sent a statement saying the Zapatistas had decided to dissolve the “autonomous municipalities” they had established READ MORE: ‘Adopt an axolotl’ campaign in Mexico aims to help save critically endangered species Moises cited the waves of gang violence that have hit the area of Chiapas that borders Guatemala but did not say whether that was a reason for dissolving the townships The area held by the Zapatistas includes land near the border Details about what will replace the autonomous municipalities remain scarce but it appears they will reorganize at more of a community level The Zapatistas were launched publicly on Jan Hilario Lorenzo Ruiz saw a number of his friends die in those early days of clashes with the Mexican army in Ocosingo one of the five municipalities the Zapatistas took control of in January 1994 demoralized by the movement’s limited results in areas like health access Ruiz said perhaps the movement’s greatest achievement was drawing the Mexican government’s and the world’s attention to the impoverished state of Chiapas “Not even in the municipal center is the health service good We come here to the hospital and there’s nothing.” The levels of poverty now in Chiapas remain stubbornly similar to what they were 30 years ago when the Zapatistas appeared Support for the movement has eroded with time and Ruiz lamented that younger generations have not carried the same convictions to maintain the struggle a professor in the Department of Public Health at the Southern Border College in San Cristobal de las Casas who has observed the Zapatistas for decades said the group successfully transitioned from armed conflict to politics and achieved a level of autonomy and recognition for Mexico’s Indigenous peoples that hadn’t existed before González said the Zapatistas should be lauded for their contributions to Mexico’s democratization the Zapatistas’ ranks have been thinned by outward migration and the incursion of drug traffickers González also faulted internal power struggles and a lack of turnover in leadership positions which have been held by many of the same people for years © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins A bus carrying tourists from Puebla was attacked by thieves yesterday in Chiapas Police said the bus was traveling on the Ocosingo-Palenque highway when six balaclava-clad individuals carrying firearms forced it to stop Four of them boarded the bus and began shattering windows and threatening the passengers with their guns The tourists reported the theft upon their arrival in San Cristóbal de las Casas They had planned to spend three days traveling around the state but changed their mind after the incident cutting their trip short and heading back home The highway is known for such attacks. Tour companies began traveling in convoys during Holy Week last year after 25 German tourists and their guides were robbed. Source: Reforma (sp) Highway robbers attacked tourists traveling in Chiapas Sunday after they had visited the Palenque archaeological site The tourists were traveling in two vehicles on the highway between Ocosingo and Palenque when they encountered a roadblock near the town of Xanil in the municipality of Chilón At least 18 men armed with assault rifles approached the two vehicles and proceeded to take their belongings When one driver tried to resist he was struck in the head and subdued by one of the attackers phones wallets and any other valuables the tourists were carrying before fleeing in a truck toward Palenque One of the vehicles carried a family from México state while the other was a tour company van carrying 15 Mexicans and three foreigners one from the United Kingdom and two from South Korea One driver said the incident lasted about eight minutes and that the thieves were presumably indigenous having used a local language to communicate among themselves The newspaper El Universal reported that robberies are continuous on the roads traversing the Altos and that thieves target the tourist circuits of San Cristóbal de las Casas Source: SDP Noticias (sp), El Universal (sp) the pre-Hispanic snack food served on street corners throughout the land each morning are getting a gourmet makeover for Candlemas Though they’re traditionally paired with chocolate one Mexico City restaurant wants to enhance the tamal experience by complementing them with Mexico’s finest wines the restaurant of the Advanced School of Gastronomy have teamed up with the Mexican Vinicultural Council to offer epicures a unique seasonal tasting menu sommelier Jimena Cuevas paired tamales with wines from various parts of the country to put a new twist on the old Mexican recipes The combinations can be sampled at the restaurant’s Barra de Maíz (Corn Bar) a 10-seat bar that customarily offers an eight-course menu of dishes made with corns native to Guerrero One such pairing is the tamal made with the fatty cut of beef called suadero and the acidic chile morita served with a glass of Calixa blend (cabernet sauvignon and petit syrah) from Monte Xanic The wine gives the tamal a smoother flavor and balances out its acidity The blue corn tamal made with huauzontle (a native Mexican plant similar to amaranth) and creamy Mexican ramonetti cheese is paired with the pinot noir of Coahuila’s Bodegas del Viento nuts and fruits contrasts perfectly with the herbal flavors in the tamal which called it the best pairing on the menu White wines with a bit of flavor from the barrel pair well with the strong flavors of cheese Such is the case with the tamal stuffed with huitlacoche (corn smut) and Ocosingo cheese and served with Ocho Blanco from Baja California’s Bruma winery sparkling wines are the best companions for sweet tamales because they refresh the palate from greasiness and enhance the flavors of fruits and spices So for dessert she paired the bar’s roasted pineapple tamal with a sparkling wine from Querétaro has an almost cookie-like texture that’s suitably topped by caramelized pineapple and cheese ice cream The bubbles from the Brut Nature Gran Reserva of the Freixenet winery make the dish even more playful Nido is located in Mexico City’s stylish La Condesa neighborhood and the tamal and wine menu is only available until Saturday Call ahead to make the required reservations For a more traditional tamal experience, head to the 28th annual tamal fair at the National Museum of Popular Cultures in Coyoacán Source: Chilango (sp) Editor’s note: After we published Tuesday’s story on the tamal fair a reader advised that the singular of the word tamal is tamale in English and he was right — according to the dictionaries we checked Why tack an “e” on the end anyway MEXICO CITY — Mexican archaeologists have found two 1,300-year-old limestone sculptures of captured Mayan warriors that they say could shed light on the alliances and wars among Mayan cities during the civilization's twilight elaborate sculptures of two warriors sitting cross-legged with hands tied behind their backs were found in May in the archaeological site of Tonina in southern Chiapas state along with two stone ballgame scoreboards The 5-foot (1.5-meter) tall sculptures have hieroglyphic inscriptions on their loincloths and chest that say the warriors belonged to the city of Copan archaeologist Juan Yadeun said in a news release Wednesday Yadeun said the discovery proves warriors from Copan helped those in Palenque during the city's' 26-year war against Tonina for control of the Usumacinta river "The finding of the two captives of Copan is physical evidence that corroborates (the city's) alliance with Palenque in its fight against Tonina," said Yauden who oversees the Tonina site for Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History 688 to 714 Tonina and Palenque fought several battles over watershed areas in the region that fed the Usumacinta river which now marks the boundary between Mexico and Guatemala Many experts have pointed to internal warfare between Mayan city states or environmental degradation as possible causes of the Maya's downfall starting around A.D One of the warrior sculptures is complete and the figure has fabric strips in its ears instead of the traditional earmuffs warriors wore a characteristic element of carvings of prisoners Archaeologists found the sculptures and scoreboards at the southern end of Tonina's ballcourt The inscriptions also show the captive warriors were used as offerings along with fire and incense smoke during a celebration at the field around A.D The Maya believed temples had a life of their own and were "born" when they were inaugurated and that is why blood had to be spilled during the opening ceremony to mark their birth "The Copan prisoners were possibly used during the inauguration ritual of the second phase of adorning the ballcourt so they could give 'life' to the structure," Yadeun said It was around the time of conflict with Palenque that Tonina's Maya leaders consecrated the ballcourt to battles fought and victories won and new scoreboards were made The scoreboards found also have inscriptions that refer to Copan's kingdom Archaeologists not connected with the dig heralded the finding but expressed caution about concluding the sculptures are proof that distant Copan was a direct player in the battles between Palenque and Tonina "Although Tonina is known for the virtuosity of its sculptors in depicting the human form and for its many images of captives is extraordinary," wrote Susan Gillespie an archaeologist at the University of Florida "These texts and the sculptures themselves are helping to write a history of the various allegiances acts of capture and sacrifice that embroiled the competitive Maya capitals in the Late Classic period." a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin who saw photos of the sculptures "Copan is not being referenced in any way," Stuart wrote "Perhaps there's more evidence I'm still unaware of but these two statues refer to prisoners already known from other Tonina inscriptions and I suspect they are probably more local to the Chiapas region," he added Stuart said the main purpose of the sculptures was to commemorate a dedication of the ballcourt at Tonina on June 27 "The prisoner depicted in the well-preserved portrait was captured on October 2 was probably kept around for a time before being sacrificed," Stuart added A request for an interview with Yauden at the anthropology institute was not answered Mexico (Reuters) – The pyramids of the ancient Mayan city of Tonina rise high above the jungle of southeastern Mexico but deep under the site’s most important pyramid a once-forgotten crypt is shining new light on the rites and rituals of this civilization discovered in 2020 and likely built between the 7th and 8th centuries archeologists found 400 vessels containing human ashes mixed with rubber and roots The findings support archeologist Juan Yadeun’s hypothesis that important figures’ remains were incorporated into balls used in sport – “a transformation of the body” that allowed them to live on after their death “Such discoveries in Tonina provide a more accurate idea of how interesting and complex the Mayan religion was,” Yadeun said (Reporting by Manuel Carrillo; Editing by Bradley Perrett) Powered by PageSuite