THE DISCOVERY Naia

Ancient / Archaeology / First woman to... / Indigenous Peoples / Mexico / North America / on-location / Science / Travel
A woman in full scuba gear uses a small paintbrush to work on an ancient-looking human skull while "packing" it for removal from the underwater cave.
Archaeologist Susan Bird preparing Naia’s skull for photographing.
photo by Paul Nicklen for National Geographic.

In a deep dark underwater cave, Mexican divers found a mountain of prehistoric animal bones… and one human skeleton. It was Naia – the oldest skeleton ever discovered in the Americas. What can her bones tell us about our human origins? And more than that, what do they tell us about what it means to be human? Come with us on location to Dos Palmas cenote in Mexico, as Katie interviews returning guest Gabo Cemé.

Watch the Nova episode on the Naia discovery here. The discovery was first detailed in an article for National Geographic here. This is an excellent article on the carbon dating, and this article gives more information about the DNA analysis, as does this one.

Gabriel Cemé is native Maya of Akumal, Mexico with a passion for history. Gabo traveled the globe for years before returning to the Yucatan to cultivate his deep relationship with the land and found Eco Maya. At Eco Maya’s Animal Sanctuary, Gabo and his team work to rehabilitate wild animals for their release back into the wild. Eco Maya also aims to foster ecologically sustainable tourism to the Yucatan.

Gabo also appeared as the guest in our episode on Zazil-ha.

Music featured in this episode included:

“Echoes of Time,” “Mermaid,” “Passing Time,” “Inner Sanctum,” and “Gathering Darkness” by Kevin MacLeod
“Frightmare,” “Aztec Empire,” and “Mayan Ritual” by Jimena Contreras
“A Great Darkness Approaches” by ELPHNT
“The Awakening” by Patrick Patrikios
“Length of Light” by Amulets