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Submerged archaeologists have found 12 Mayan pre-Hispanic skulls, two rifles from the Colony time and about 50 vessels in the sinkholes in southwestern Mexico, Mexican culture officials said on Tuesday.

The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced that those relics were found in Mexico's Yucatan state during researches aimed at completing the Underwater Archeological Atlas of Yucatan Peninsula.

According to INAH archaeologist, Lisseth Pedroza, some 50 domestic and ritual vessels from the Late Pre-classic period (400-250 A.C.) were found in Kan Kab Che'en sinkholes.

Some of the vessels "are red, egg-shaped, and had funerary use, as intentional perforation reveals; their shape is similar to Roman amphorae, until now, only found in Cuello, Belize," she said.

Meanwhile, in Balmi, Canun Che'en and La Guadalupana sinkholes, human remains from the pre-Hispanic time were found, including 12 skulls, which present cranial and teeth deformations.

The two rifles found in these sinkholes "still are being studied to determine their origin (Spanish, French or British) and date, because they might be from 18th century or early 19th," Pedroza added.

"For the Mayan ancient civilization, the sinkholes there were sacred places and were considered the access to the underworld. They were places to practice rituals related to birth and death," Pedroza said.

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