Archaeologists Open a Sealed ‘Jaguar God’ Cave Undisturbed For Over 1,000 Years Luis Un was just a boy when he first visited the cave. It was 1966, and farmers had stumbled upon the hidden cavern by chance. They alerted a prominent Mexican archaeologist, who promptly sealed the entrance. Decades pᴀssed, the strange place was forgotten. …

Maya Stucco Masks Revealed in Mexico The Federal Ministry of Culture, through the National Insтιтute of Anthropology and History (INAH), announced that, in 42 years of research work in the archaeological zone of Toniná, archaeologist Juan Yadeun Angulo, has found a diversity of archaeological materials, among which a large number of masks stand out, with …

Mayan DISCOVERY: How find in 2,000-year-old city ‘reveals story of creation’ The Mayans were a civilisation known for their architecture, mathematics and astronomical beliefs, who date back as far as 2000BC. However, thanks to a discovery made at the El Mirador site in northern Guatemala, historians are able to know more about their theories over …

Spider Monkey at Teotihuacan May Have Been a Maya Gift The complete skeletal remains of a spider monkey — seen as an exotic curiosity in pre-Hispanic Mexico — grants researchers new evidence regarding social-political ties between two ancient powerhouses: Teotihuacán and Maya Indigenous rulers.  The discovery was made by Nawa Sugiyama, a UC Riverside anthropological archaeologist, …

Lidar Survey Reveals Urban Sprawl of Ancient Maya City Following years of research, Dr. Kathryn Reese-Taylor, PhD, professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at UCalgary, as well as her team of international colleagues, has used lidar (light detection and ranging) to help uncover more secrets of the enormous ancient Maya city of Calakmul. …

Archaeologists unearth 1,300-year-old statue of Mayan God in Mexico Archaeologists have unearthed an approximately 1,300-year-old statue representing the head of the Mayan god in southeast Mexico. Archaeologists were excavating in the Mayan city-state of Palenque, near Mexico’s Chiapas Usumacinta River. The artefact found symbolizes the birth of the maize plant with the first rays of …

Pre-Hispanic Images Revealed on Early Convent Walls in Mexico A restoration team that, under the supervision of the National Insтιтute of Anthropology and History (INAH), an insтιтution of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, recovers the posa chapels of the atrium of the Temple and Ex-convent of the Nativity, in Tepoztlán, Morelos, …

Ancient Mayan Cities are Heavily Contaminated with Mercury The ancient Maya in Mesoamerica used mercury — predominantly cinnabar, but rarely elemental mercury — for decorative and ceremonial purposes, according to a team of archaeologists from Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. Mercury is a toxic pollutant that affects human and ecosystem health. Elevated …

1,300-Year-Old Corn God Statue Shows How the Maya Worshipped Maize While excavating a section of the ancient Maya city of Palenque last summer, archaeologists in Mexico were surprised to see the tip of a large nose emerging from underneath the dirt. As they carefully brushed away more debris at El Palacio, nostrils, a chin and …