2,000-year-old Flower Bouquet in ‘Very Good Condition’ Found Under Mexican Pyramid

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the ancient people of Teotihuacan wrapped bunches of flowers into beautiful bouquets, laid them beneath a jumble of wood and set the pile ablaze.

Now, archaeologists have found the remains of those surprisingly well-preserved flowers in a tunnel snaking beneath a pyramid of the ancient city, located northeast of what is now Mexico City. 

The pyramid itself is immense and would have stood 75 feet (23 meters) tall when it was first built, making it taller than the Sphinx of Giza from ancient Egypt.

The Teotihuacan pyramid is part of the “Temple of the Feathered Serpent,” which was built in honour of Quetzalcoatl, a serpent god who was worshipped in Mesoamerica. 

Archaeologists found the bouquets 59 feet (18 m)  below ground in the deepest part of the tunnel, said Sergio Gómez-Chávez, an archaeologist with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) who is leading the excavation of the tunnel.

Numerous pieces of pottery, along with a sculpture depicting Tlaloc, a god associated with rainfall and fertility, were found beside the bouquets, he added. 

The bouquets were likely part of rituals, possibly associated with fertility, that Indigenous people performed in the tunnel, Gómez-Chávez told Live Science in a translated email.

The team hopes that by determining the identity of the flowers, they can learn more about the rituals. 

The team discovered the bouquets just a few weeks ago. The number of flowers in each bouquet varies, Gómez-Chávez said, noting that one bouquet has 40 flowers tied together while another has 60 flowers. 

Archaeologists found evidence of a large bonfire with numerous pieces of burnt wood where the bouquets were laid down, Gómez-Chávez said.

It seems that people placed the bouquets on the ground first and then covered them with a vast amount of wood. The sheer amount of wood seems to have protected the bouquets from the bonfire’s flames. 

The tunnel that Gómez-Chávez’s team is excavating was found in 2003 and has yielded thousands of artefacts including pottery, sculptures, cocoa beans, obsidian, animal remains and even a miniature landscape with pools of liquid mercury.

Archaeologists are still trying to understand why ancient people created the tunnel and how they used it.

Teotihuacan contains several pyramids and flourished between roughly 100 B.C. and A.D. 600. It had an urban core that covered 8 square miles (20 square kilometres) and may have had a population of 100,000 people. 

A palatial 1,500-year-old Maya structure unearthed in Mexico

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered two housing complexes, including a palace-like building, in the roughly 1,500-year-old Maya city of Kabah on the Yucatán Peninsula.

The team unearthed the buildings, which are the first evidence of residential buildings at this archaeological site, ahead of the Maya Train railroad project, a 930-mile-long (1,500-kilometer) railway that will run through the Yucatán Peninsula.

The palace-like structure is 85 feet (26 meters) long and is decorated with carvings of birds, feathers, and beads, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said in a translated statement.

The building’s façade has a portico that includes eight pilasters, and rectangular columns that project from the walls.

The palace and the other housing complex were elite living spaces where people slept, ate and lived their daily lives, Lourdes Toscano Hernández, an archaeologist with the INAH who co-led the team, told Live Science in a translated email.

A lineage of people who ruled the city would have lived in the buildings, although their names are not known, Toscano Hernández said.

The buildings also may have been used for administrative functions, Toscano Hernández said, noting that public meetings may have been carried out nearby.

The carvings of birds, feathers and beads on the palace-like structure may have symbolized the relationship between the elites who lived in these structures and the Maya gods — something that would have helped to legitimize their status, Toscano Hernández said.

Until recently, the housing complexes, along with other parts of the ancient city, were covered with vegetation, the INAH statement noted.

It’s unclear exactly when the buildings were built, but the city was founded sometime between A.D. 250 and 500 by people who came from the Petén region, an area that includes Guatemala and Belize, according to the statement.

Toscano Hernández said the city’s first ruler may have lived in the structures.

Within the buildings, archaeologists found the remains of pottery, including painted vessels and ceramics that had a utilitarian use, the statement said. Research at the site is ongoing.

The Maya flourished in the region between 250 and 900. While many cities collapsed around 900, new cities, such as Chichén Itzá, were built. Today, their descendants, the modern-day Maya, number in the millions and can be found all over the world.

A Painted Vault Lid Discovered In the Royal Palace Of Ek’ Balam Will Shed Light On the History Of The Acropolis Of Ek’

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a painted ancient vault lid, decorated with a depiction of a serpent. The Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), registered this unpublished mural painting on the stone artifact.

Ek’ Balam is a Yucatec-Maya archaeological site within the municipality of Temozón, Yucatán, Mexico. It lies in the Northern Maya lowlands, 25 kilometers (16 mi) north of Valladolid and 56 kilometers (35 mi) northeast of Chichen Itza. The place was particularly important from the Preclassic period until the Postclassic period. During this time, it played an essential role as the seat of a Mayan kingdom.

The site is noted for preserving the plaster on the tomb of Ukit Kan Lek Tok’, the most important ruler of the Maya city of Ek Balam during the Late Classic period (A.D. 600 to 900), buried on the side of the largest pyramid.

Archaeologists also informed us that this discovery of the stone block – used by the ancient Mayans as a vault lid, in one of the structures of the Ek’ Balam Acropolis – will play a crucial role in deciphering the history of the Ek’ Balam Acropolis.

This block is the seventh painted vault lid unearthed in the last year in this archaeological zone of excavations of Yucatan.

The finding was announced at the morning press conference of the Mexican Presidency, headed on this occasion by the Secretary of the Interior, Luisa María Alcalde Luján, where the progress of work of the Mayan Train Section 4, which will travel 239 kilometers between the Izamal stations, in Yucatan, and Cancun Airport, in Quintana Roo, were presented.

The general director of the INAH, Diego Prieto Hernández, explained that, with the recent discovery of this vault lid, there are 30 of these architectural elements registered over the years at the site, which have provided relevant data, such as the names of some of the rulers of the kingdom of Talol (Ek’ Balam), as well as the dates when the rooms of the royal palace or Acropolis were constructed.

According to the team, unlike the earlier discovered stone lids, the recently one does not have black paint strokes, but was painted in red color.

The lid represents a symbol in the form of a “U”, which could resemble a cave with underground water, probably allusion to the underworld, where a snake seems to enter. The head and part of the body of the reptile is seen, which could be related to the serpentine foot of the god K’awiil.

K’awiil represents a Maya deity associated with lightning, serpents, maize, and fertility. He is depicted with a zoomorphic head, with large eyes, long, upturned snout, and attenuated serpent foot.

The discovery of the lid will contribute to more information about the builders of the elite enclosures of the East Elevated Plaza of the Acropolis, as well as the date on which they were erected, as pointed out the directors of the Ek’ Balam Archaeological Project, Leticia Vargas de la Peña and Víctor Castillo Borges.

Ek’ Balam was occupied from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic, although it ceased to thrive as a major city past the Late Classic.

It is worth mentioning that in this sector of the building, the facades of the rooms decorated with the stuccoed reliefs of captors and captives were recently found.

The head of the INAH stressed that the implementation of the Improvement Program in Archaeological Zones (Promeza), in 27 sites in the southeast and the Yucatan Peninsula, which will see an increased influx of visitors due to the operation of the Mayan Train, has led to important discoveries, such as the one described.

In this sense, he added, the Promeza has made it possible to realize various projects in the Archaeological Zone of Chichen Itza, the most recent, the public opening of the Chichen Viejo section or Initial Series.

The research and conservation tasks in Chichen Itza, to which 14% is left to conclude, have focused on important structures, such as the Great Ball Game, the Temple of the Warriors, the Annex of the Nuns, the House of the Snails and the Moon, and the Group of the Nuns; while the signage has been completely renovated.

The head of the INAH stressed that the implementation of the Improvement Program in Archaeological Zones (Promeza), in 27 sites in the southeast and the Yucatan Peninsula, which will see an increased influx of visitors due to the operation of the Mayan Train, has led to important discoveries, such as the one described.

In this sense, he added, the Promeza has made it possible to realize various projects in the Archaeological Zone of Chichen Itza, the most recent, the public opening of the Chichen Viejo section or Initial Series.

The research and conservation tasks in Chichen Itza, to which 14% is left to conclude, have focused on important structures, snd among them the famous  Great Ball Game, the Temple of the Warriors, the Annex of the Nuns, the House of the Snails and the Moon, and the Group of the Nuns; while the signage has been completely renovated.

Archaeologists have unearthed a stone chest containing the ritual deposit of 15 anthropomorphic figurines

Archaeologists have unearthed a stone chest containing the ritual deposit of 15 anthropomorphic figurines that were placed as votive offerings at the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City.

The stone chest was found under the platform of the rear façade of the temple in a layer that dates to the reign of Aztec emperor and king of Tenochtitlan Moctezuma I (1440-1469 A.D.)

Stone chest is known as Tepetlacalli in Nahuatl, containing 15 anthropomorphic figurines and numerous green stone beads,  two rattlesnake-shaped earrings, snails, shells, and marine corals. Fourteen of the artifacts portray men, while the smallest of the group features a woman.

The anthropomorphic figures are in the Mezcala style, a Mesoamerican culture that emerged in the Middle and Late Preclassic within Mesoamerican chronology (700 to 200 BC). Archaeologists believe the Aztecs valued Mezcala objects and excavated them from Mezcala sites in Guerrero, Mexico’s southwestern state, to use as ritual offerings.

“This means that when the Mexicas (Aztecs) subdued those peoples, the figurines were already true relics, some of them more than 1,000 years old,” archaeologist Leonardo López Luján, director of the Templo Mayor Project, said in the statement. “Presumably they served as cult effigies, which they appropriated as booty of war.”

Carved from green metamorphic stones, the largest of these statues is 30 centimeters high, while the smallest figure is 3 centimeters high. On one of the figurines, the remains of facial paint depicting the Mexica god of rain, Tlaloc, were discovered.

Researchers think this was part of a planned Mexica reset of the religious significance of the ancient cult figurines.

The stone chest was found in the context of stage IVa of the Templo Mayor, which dates from the rule of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina between AD 1440 and 1469.

“In their homes, the Mexicas used to keep their most precious belongings in palm-frond chests, such as fine feathers, jewelry or cotton garments,” López Luján said in the statement. “We can imagine the priests storing in these ‘stone cases’ the quintessential symbols of water and fertility: sculptures of the rain gods, green stone beads, shells, and snails.”

The sand and shells came from the Atlantic shore, an area conquered by the Aztecs of the Triple Alliance (the combined forces of three Mexica city-states, Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan) under Moctezuma I.

In Tenochtitlan, the seat of the Aztec Empire, the Templo Mayor served as the focal point of a larger temple complex. The temple was devoted to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, and Tlaloc, the god of rain and agriculture, and was known in Nahuatl as huey teocalli.

Human Remains and Jade Ring Found at Maya Site in Mexico

Within the priority project of the Mayan Train, the application of the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza), by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), allows research and conservation of pre-Columbian monuments from the sites of Palenque, Moral-Reforma and El Tigre, located in Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche, respectively. In the latter, the discovery of a human skeleton carrying a jade ring, whose antiquity is estimated at around 1,200 years, was recorded.

When participating in the morning conference of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the general director of the INAH, Diego Prieto Hernández, reported on this discovery and on the application of Promeza in these heritage sites, “which allows the reconfiguration of the present to from the recovery and disclosure of the past”.

The skeleton, he explained, was discovered as part of a funerary offering, which was located inside platform 1E, to the west of the monumental complex known as Structure 1 of the El Tigre Archaeological Zone.

The ritual deposit consisted of two large-format vessels covered with ceramic bowls, as lids.

One of them particularly drew the attention of archaeologists, because it contained the skeletal remains of a young individual, placed in a flexed position and accompanied by a showy and well-preserved jade ring as a distinctive element.

Based on the characteristics of the vessels, the deposit can be associated to the Late Classic period (AD 600-800), coinciding with the population and political heyday of El Tigre.

Prieto Hernández indicated that the investigation will continue in the laboratory, where a micro-excavation will be carried out, in order to specify anthropophysical data and find out if it had other associated elements, such as seeds or smaller-format ornaments.

With this skeleton, noted the head of the INAH, there are 177 pre-Hispanic human burials located in Section 1 of the Mayan Train, through two aspects: during the monitoring of archaeological rescues in the laying of the railways, and the application of the Promise in the three mentioned areas.

As of August 14, 2023, he said, 2,698 real estate have also been preserved; 248 furniture elements; 281,353 ceramic fragments and 55 natural features associated with the presence of ancient human groups in this branch of the train, which runs from Palenque, in Chiapas, to Escárcega, in Campeche.

With regard to the Archaeological Zone of Palenque, in Chiapas, the anthropologist explained that through the Promeza the attention of the Temple of the Foliated Cross, the mortuary chamber of the Temple of the Inscriptions, houses A and D of the Palace and the buildings J1 and J5 of Group IV.

The new signage for the site, he added, is in the printing phase; the reconfiguration of the “Alberto Ruz L’huillier” Site Museum reports 30% progress, and the construction of the Visitor Service Center (Catvi) has 99% progress.

In the Moral-Reforma Archaeological Zone, in Tabasco, where a Catvi is also being built and signage is being renewed, the Promeza adds 43% progress in the investigation of Plaza Oriente, as well as in excavations and consolidations of various housing units.

Finally, in the El Tigre Archaeological Zone, in Campeche, progress is being made in the exploration of the aforementioned Structure 1, and in the investigation and conservation of the Market Square and the Main Square, while the so-called Triadic Complex is being prepared. for its opening to national and international tourism.

In this patrimonial site, the general director of INAH concluded, a Catvi is also being built, with 5% progress, and signage and visitor infrastructure are optimized.