Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a small treasure, which may have been placed to commemorate the start of the construction of the Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun nearly 2,000 years ago.
Offerings include obsidian and ceramic products, as well as animal remains. Perhaps the most striking are the three green stone figures, one of which is a snake mask, which researchers believe may be a portrait.
The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest building in the archaeological site Teotihuacan in northeastern Mexico City. The city has been inhabited for hundreds of years around 100 BC, and residents likely started building the Pyramid of the Sun around 100 AD.
Archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have excavated inside the pyramid in the recent years. They excavated 59 holes and 3 short tunnels to find sacrifices and tombs, and discovered 7 including babies Human tombs. It even precedes the structure of the Pyramid of the Sun.
The researchers also found two offerings. One with a green mask and the other at the bottom of the pyramid, “so we know it was made as part of the ceremony”- Perez Cortez, a researcher at the Zacatecas INAH Center said in a statement.
It turned out that the old tunnel ended 20 feet west of the center, so the new expansion took the archaeologists to the bottom of the preliminary pyramid building, where they found the remains of the three structures before the pyramid and the sacrifice. The sacrifice found at the base of the pyramid at the Teotihuacan site in northern Mexico City includes a beautifully carved green serpentine mask, so detailed that archaeologists believe it may be a portrait.
Sources: www.livescience.com
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