University site investigated for ancient Mayan remains

A large site in Ticul has been set aside for a free federal university focusing on medicine and wellness. Photo: Diario de Yucatan

Ticul, Yucatan — Mexico is building a new university in the south of the state, but it won’t get very far until some possible ancient Mayan remains and artifacts at the site are sorted out.

Officials from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) are examining mounds on the site before allowing bulldozers to begin preparing the land for construction.

Around 390 students are already preparing for courses at the Universidad del Bienestar Benito Juárez García, for which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will lay the cornerstone.

The school will offer two degrees: one in integrative medicine and the other in physical education with a specialty in baseball.

The federal government planned on classes to begin in the 2019-2020 session. Local students are already in introductory classes in temporary spaces.

Ticul Mayor Rafael Montalvo Mata said there is no specific date for the groundbreaking at the five-hectares / 12.5-acre site near the Chapab road.

The university is free to qualifying students, and is an alternative to classes at UADY over an hour to the north. The project will be Yucatan’s only educational institution outside Merida focusing on medicine and wellness.

The mayor justified the university’s focus on baseball by pointing to the region’s traditional affinity with the game.

Sources: Sipse, Diario de Yucatan

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