Working at the site of a demolished supermarket, archaeologists dug 10 feet down to find a temple built more than 650 years ago, researchers said Wednesday.
The circular platform, about 36 feet in diameter and four feet tall, now sits in the shadow of a shopping mall under construction. The site is believed to have been built to worship the god of wind, Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, and the plans to preserve it and make it visible to the public with a large viewing window.
What archaeologists initially found below the old supermarket—shards of pottery and human remains —was expected, said Pedro Francisco Sanchez Nava, national archaeology coordinator for Mexico's National Anthropology and History Institute.
But deeper down they were surprised to find the temple, which offers another example of how the Mexica-Tlatelolca people worshipped one of their principal deities, Sanchez said. Offerings found included an infant with no signs of trauma, bird bones, obsidian, maguey cactus spines and ceramic figurines of monkeys and duck bills.
[...] Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, researcher emeritus, said modern day Mexico City covers several different pre-Hispanic cities, including Tlatelolco and its rival Tenochtitlan.
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A pair of archaeologists with the American Museum of Natural History has unearthed a palatial compound in El Palenque's plaza in the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Elsa Redmond and Charles Spencer describe their work, what they have uncovered and how their findings fit with the emergence of organized states in Mesoamerica.
[...] The palace has been dated to approximately 2,100 to 2,300 years ago, a time before the Aztecs. Most in the field believe that the civilization that existed in Oaxaca was among the earliest states to come into existence in Mesoamerica. Redmond and Spencer suggest that their findings at the palace site back up that theory.
The palace, the pair report, was well preserved and covered approximately 2,790 square meters and had not only living quarters for the ruler and his family, but business offices, a staircase, a dining area and a place to perform sacrifices. The researchers report that construction techniques used by the builders suggest the building was designed ahead of time and that it was likely a single construction effort that would have taken a lot of organization. Also, its large size demonstrated that the ruler had a lot of manpower at his disposal. The researchers also note that personal details are still evident in some parts of the palace, such as the cistern for collecting rainwater in the residential quarters and the drain carved into stone to bring in fresh water and remove waste.
A similar find in Mexico: Circular Temple to God of Wind Uncovered in Mexico City
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday December 03 2016, @07:27PM
Perhaps not the most powerful god, or the most outgoing.
From all indications this Ehecatl God just laid down and summoned all of its powers to bury itself.
Probably in despair about having to watch over all those crazy humans running around.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @07:46PM
I was reading the translator's note to Don Quixote earlier today, and he mentioned that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza have existed more or less since the beginning of humanity.
The idealist and the stubborn literalist who only sees what's in front of their eyes.
Reading your comment, I just realized that the Don Quixote-s are not all idealists.
And I think it would have been an important point to make.
(Score: 5, Funny) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday December 03 2016, @08:36PM
built more than 650 years ago, researchers said Wednesday.
More than 650 years ago, but they still know it was a Wednesday? That's some accurate dating.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @09:25PM
I hope they let us climb it.