Researchers discover boat filled with 'modified' human bones used for mysterious ceremonies hundreds of years ago

An eerie shipwreck of a 45-foot-long vessel has been dredged from the mud of a drought-ravaged lake in Mexico — along with a 'unique' set of altered human bones.

Archeologists have identified the ship as being a traditional style known as a 'tepari,' which is believed to predate the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors by centuries, although the age of this particular wreck remains uncertain.

The vessel appears to have sunk with its cargo, primarily firewood, which experts suggested was being shipped to Janitzio Island from Erongarícuaro, four miles west.

Each of the mysterious and remarkably well-preserved bones found with this shipwreck, mostly femurs or thigh bones, were striped with multiple deep grooves.

According to one Spanish-language publication, the bones could provide valuable insights on the 'ritual practices of the ancient civilizations that inhabited the region.'

The eerie shipwreck of an over 45-foot-long vessel has been dredged from the mud of a drought-ravaged lake in Mexico - with a 'unique' set of altered human bones (top). Each of the well-preserved bones, mostly femurs or thigh bones, were striped with multiple deep grooves

Archeologists have identified the ship as a traditional 'tepari,' which predates the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors by centuries, although the age of this particular wreck remains uncertain. The vessel (above) appears to have sunk with its cargo, primarily firewood

'Numerous ceramic and stone objects believed to have been thrown into the lake during pre-Hispanic times as offerings were also found,' according to that same magazine, La Brújula Verde, based across the Atlantic in the city of Oviedo in Spain.

The find was first reported by an excavation and preservation team with Mexico's official National Institute of Anthropology and History or INAH (the acronym for organization's Spanish name, 'Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia').

The bones, according to INAH officials, bear nearly a dozen 'ranurados,' grooved or slotted markings, each — macabre engravings whose purpose is currently unknown.

INAH's director of the excavation project, José Luis Punzo, agreed with the institute's assessment that the bones were 'unique' for just how well-preserved they were. 

But the researcher was more focused on the other artifacts found with the wreck. 

Excavators in the drying lakebed of Mexico's Lake Pátzcuaro examine the half-buried 'tepari' shipwreck (above)

'Among these, several complete ceramic pieces have been recovered, such as decorated bowls, pots and incense burners,' Punzo said, 'which are samples of the rituals that were surely carried out in the lagoon.'

'Deer antlers, bone needles and other stone objects have also been recovered,' the INAH official told Newsweek.

'Thanks to these studies,' he said, 'we will be able to have a deeper vision of the relationship of the ancient inhabitants of this place with the lake.'

Punzo noted that the true age of the uncovered tepari boat is still 'difficult' to pin down, even broadly by century. 

The boat could be older than Mexico's colonial occupation by Spain 500 years ago, or a more recent carving from more modern times, he opined. 

INAH experts, according to Punzo, will be conducting further analysis on the boat to more concretely determine when it was made and its historic value.

José Luis Punzo, who is leading the effort to recover and preserve the artifacts, pointed out that these tepari boats, despite their impressive length, 'are monohull boats - that is, they are made from a single large tree and carved from it' 

'Numerous ceramic and stone objects believed to have been thrown into the lake during pre-Hispanic times as offerings were also found,' according to one publication that covered the fine, La Brújula Verde magazine, based across the Atlantic in the city of Oviedo, Spain 

Lake Pátzcuaro, where these artifacts were discovered, has lost an estimated 50 percent of its usual volume in recent years, according to CNN affiliate Televisa.

Both 'environmental factors' like drought, which have accelerated due to climate change, and the 'illicit extraction of water' have contributed to the losses, as representatives for Pátzcuaro's municipal government told the news station.

As local hotel owner Arturo Pimentel noted, clear cutting to make way for avocado groves has also disrupted the natural movement and retention of water into the lake.

'The avocado has become like a plague in the area,' Pimentel told Candian public broadcaster CBC.

These conditions have transformed the lake's island of Janitzio, famous for its 'Day of the Dead' celebrations, into a peninsula, according to Mexican news site N+.

Droughts accelerated by climate change and illegal water theft have helped to transform the lake's island of Janitzio (above) into a peninsula

A map of Mexico's Lake Pátzcuaro - where the shipwreck and ritual bones were uncovered

But officials with the Mexican government's anthropology institute reported that they hope to make the best of the lake's tragic current state by securing these historic cultural finds. 

'At this time, together with the community of Janitzio, conservation tasks are being carried out on the movable archaeological materials,' INAH said in a statement, 'as well as other tepari that have been identified.'

While INAH did not release photographs or details on these additional shipwrecks, the institute did note that their plan is to preserve these artifacts for 'a community museum on the island of Janitzio.' 

INAH project director Punzo pointed out that these tepari boats, despite their impressive length, 'are monohull boats — that is, they are made from a single large tree and carved from it.'

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The canoe-like boats are carved with an ax-like tool called an adze, which leaves signature marks along the tepari's wood.

Tepari are traditionally sealed or caulked for waterproofing with chapopote, a naturally occurring sludge of raw petroleum material that gives the boats their dark color. 

The boats often could carry up to 20 people, with this crew manning a large net for fishing expeditions. 

Due to deforestation, however, few logs are locally available for traditional tepari to still be carved by Mexico's indigenous peoples, according to INAH's National Museum of Anthropology.

But the craftsmanship that went into manufacturing a tepari was once so revered that this local respect was built right into the name. 

The word is an adjective in the Purépecha language of Mexico's Michoacán region that is used to indicate 'a very large, admirable and consideration thing.'