Note: The original headline of this post erroneously referred to the bodies as Mayan.

The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico announced this week the discovery of the bodies of 33 people, and thousands of objects, two kilometres outside the ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacán. The bodies include five children and a baby less than a year old surrounded by a censer, which had been deliberately broken into pieces as an offering. Archaeologists discovered 31,000 fragments of ceramics, also believed to have been used as offerings, ruins of buildings and a mural, all estimated to be around 1,450 years old.

Excavation work has been going on since 1973, when five pre-Hispanic structures were first unearthed at the site. The latest finds have shed considerable light, however, on aspects of social organisation, urban life and funeral rites in the ancient city. Half of the bodies have been identified as belonging to the middle class suggesting that the middle classes lived primarily on the periphery of the city.

Archaeologist Gonzalo Morales Hernandez explained that the five structures under study were used for domestic purposes. The remains of five rooms laid out around an open courtyard, patios designed for domestic religious worship, drainage systems and wall paintings have been identified in the building known as Structure 8. These architectural characteristics are similar to those of residential areas at other sites from the period. It is believed that human sacrifices were notably organised at ceremonies held during the construction and enlargement of sites associated with religious rituals. It is thus possible that the recently discovered bodies were sacrificed as Teotihuacán was extended to provide accommodation for the middle classes.    

Teotihuacán is one of the oldest known archaeological sites in Mexico, which at the peak of its development it is believed to have extended over approximately 36 square kilometres. The first surveys date from 1864 and the site was first excavated in 1884. It is estimated, however, that to date only 5% of the site has been excavated.

There is further information about the site and photos of Teotihuacán on the UNESCO website.

From The Archive

Bringing the Sky Down to Earth

Stonehenge, Teotihuacan, Beijing, Washington DC: far-flung places spanning 5,000 years of history but, with many others across the world, sharing a common origin. Anthony Aveni explains how the people planning great monuments and cities, so often sought the same inspiration – alignments with the heavens.