Cassava is available from the Maya period

In the ruined area of ​​an ancient Mayan village of Salvador, American archaeologists discovered a cassava field in its entirety under 3m thick volcanic ash.

Cultivation areas at Joya de Ceren are protected by a thick layer of volcanic ash (Photo: Nouvelobs)

Although experts have said that the Maya people know how to grow and consume cassava, the main food of many ethnic groups in the Americas, they have never found evidence of this.

Last June, the team led by Dr. Payson Sheets of the University of Colorado (USA) led a radar with a drilling tool to explore the land in the village of Joya de Ceren. Archaeologists have discovered traces of a growing area with tree rows and holes. The ash has filled the gaps left by the decayed tree.

According to researchers, cassava fields from 1,400 years ago have just been replanted, volcanoes erupted. Joya de Ceren is likened to the Italian town of Pompei buried by volcanoes. In 600 BC, this ancient Latin American village was erupted by Lomo Caldera volcano and buried under a thick layer of ash.

The village was protected by this layer of ash and since its discovery in 1978, about a dozen buildings have been found, with straw granaries, fabrics and roofs of straw. However the human remains were not discovered.

The earthquake that occurred before the volcano erupted may have caused an alarm, so the villagers promptly evacuated, leaving all behind.

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