Study decodes ‘unexpected danger’ that lurked under ancient Mayan cities

Mercury from patios, floors, walls, and ceramics may have leached and spread into soil and water

Ancient Maya cities were contaminated with “dangerous” levels of mercury that may have posed a health hazard to the people living in the mesoamerican civilisation, according to new research.

The review of studies, published recently in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science, found the “unexpected danger” of mercury pollution beneath the soil surface of cities of the ancient Maya in Mesoamerica likely caused due to the frequent use of mercury and mercury-containing products by the people of this time between 250 and 1100 CE.

“Discovering mercury buried deep in soils and sediments in ancient Maya cities is difficult to explain, until we begin to consider the archeology of the region which tells us that the Maya were using mercury for centuries,” study co-author Duncan Cook from the Australian Catholic University said.