Mexico is home to amazing archeology that reveals details about its extensive pre-Columbian past. The Pyramid of the Sun, one of the most spectacular buildings, is always surprising visitors. Archaeologists have been actively researching the structure, which was constructed around 100 CE and is the largest building in Teotihuacan. Despite the fact that there haven’t been many artifacts discovered there, archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History made an unexpected discovery in 2011. (INAH).
The team was able to reach the mother-rock level by utilizing a 380-foot tunnel excavated by archaeologists in the 1930s. When they arrived, they found a unique cache of loot. This comprised three serpentine human figurines, a magnificent serpentine mask, as well as pottery shards made of clay, animal bones, obsidian, and fragments. The green mask is especially intriguing since, at the time of its discovery, Teotihuacan had no other mask of its kind that had been discovered in a ritual setting.
These offerings are said to have been made as a part of a ceremony to mark the beginning of the pyramid’s construction, which explains why it was placed there. The mask is so convincing that others have speculated that it might be a portrait because of this. Since archaeologists know very little about the people who built Teotihuacan, this would be fantastic. Conflicting ideas exist on the precise function of the pyramid. Even the name is a copy.
Teotihuacan was actually given the name Pyramid of the Sun by the Aztecs, who came to the city centuries after it had been abandoned. The third-largest pyramid in the world’s history has no known original name. A prosperous metropolis once known as the City of the Gods was Teotihuacan. 200,000 people lived there at its height. However, scholars know very little to nothing about these powerful individuals and their disappearance.
It’s not surprising that INAH continues to carry out study in the area given the wealth of knowledge still undiscovered. In reality, a tunnel under the adjacent Pyramid of the Moon was just recently discovered. Without breaking ground, they were able to trace the tunnel using electrical resistance technology.
There may be even more treasures in the subterranean chamber, which is followed by a chamber with a diameter of 49 feet. It is hoped that the combined results of these investigations would provide further information about this tremendous civilization and its downfall. According to Verónica Ortega, head of the Integral Conservation Project for the Plaza of the Moon, “these substantial offering complexes constitute the sacred core of the city of Teotihuacán, the reason why everyone considered it as the mecca of the civilization.” The contents of them will shed light on the connections this ancient city-state had with other parts of Mesoamerica.
h/t: [Live Science, History]
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