In-Depth Notes on Naia and the Hoyo Negro Discovery

Discovery of Naia

• Location: Sistema Sac Actun, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
• Year: 2007
• Findings:
  • Remains of a 15- to 16-year-old female named "Naia".
  • Various extinct animal bones from the Pleistocene.
• Site Name: Hoyo Negro ("Black Hole").

Characteristics of Naia

• Age: Lived approximately 13,000 years ago (radiocarbon dating by Chatters et al. 2014).
• Physical Attributes:
  • Arms: Not overly developed, indicating light daily activities.
  • Legs: Muscular, suggesting capability for long-distance walking.
• Health Indicators:
  • Poor nutrition indicated by bone and dental health.
  • Evidence of a healed spiral fracture on the left forearm.
  • Suffered from tooth decay and osteoporosis despite youth and small stature.

Hypothesis about Naia's Death

• Suggested that Naia entered the cave when it was not flooded to find water.
• Disorientation may have led to her falling from a ledge causing pelvic trauma (Watson 2017).

Significance of Naia's Skeleton

• Skeleton remarkably complete for its age; skull recovered allows for physical interpretation.
• Physical appearance did not match modern Indigenous peoples of the region, yet genetic analysis showed:
  • Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) shares similarities with modern Indigenous populations (Chatters et al. 2014).

Diet and Lifestyle Analysis

• Carbon isotopes were recovered from Naia's remains despite challenging burial environment.
• Isotope analysis suggested diet consisted of:
  • Cool-season grasses and/or broad-leaf vegetation.
• Dental findings:
  • Numerous dental caries and light dental wear, indicating a softer, sugar-rich diet (Chatters et al. 2022).

Visual Reference

• Figure 7.29: Diagram depicting Sistema Sac Actun and Hoyo Negro cenote, illustrating the underwater location of Naia's resting place and the structure leading to her remains.