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Discovering Only Known Tomb Of Aztec King - PAST DISCOVERIES & UPDATES

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Bianca
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« on: July 14, 2009, 07:33:38 am »







                       Archaeologists on verge of discovering only known tomb of Aztec king






Washington,
July 14 - 2009
ANI

With the discovery of a richly decorated canine skeleton near a sealed entrance near Mexicos Templo Mayor (Great Temple), an archaeological team might be on the verge of discovering the only known tomb of an Aztec king.

According to a report in National Geographic News, the animal was found wearing wooden earflaps mounted with turquoise mosaic, a collar of greenstone beads, and golden bells around its four feet.

The Templo Mayor canine skeleton was found next to a stone box that contained the remains of a golden eagle, flint sacrificial knives, crustacean shells, and balls of copal resintree sap thought to
have been used in various substances, such as incense, medicine, and glue.

Recent excavations also uncovered unbroken plaster seals made of lime and sand.

The existence of multiple seals suggests that the tomb, if it's there, could be a collective crypt containing the king and his successors, according to archaeologist Leonardo Lopez Lujan, a senior researcher at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City.

Each time they buried a newly deceased (dignitary), they sealed the entrance with a plaster seal,
he speculated.

That the seals are unbroken suggests that the potential tomb has not been looted.

If there is a royal tomb behind the seals, Lopez Lujan would expect to find the rulers ashes in stone
or ceramic containers as well as the remains of servants, accompanied by personal objects and more offerings from the funeral rites.

The tomb, according to Lopez Lujan, would not be as large as that of Tutankhamun in Egypt or the Maya funeral chambers of Copan in Honduras, because the Mexicas (Aztecs) never build arches or vaults. It might be a very small room full of offerings.

Despite rising expectations, the archaeologist said he and his team must be patient.

Only by working slowly and methodically will the team be able to reconstruct the funerary customs
and other artifacts that could shed light on the Aztec economy, political system, and religion as it existed before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s.


- ANI
« Last Edit: July 14, 2009, 11:25:22 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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Bianca
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« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2009, 10:45:07 am »








An archaeologist works on a stone monolith at the Templo Mayor (Great Temple) site in Mexico City.

The skeleton of a richly decorated canine and several unbroken plaster seals add to clues that the site could be the only known tomb of an Aztec king, researchers said in June 2009.



Photograph courtesy
Proyecto Templo Mayor,
INAH


National Geographic
« Last Edit: July 14, 2009, 10:46:37 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2009, 10:48:10 am »









                                                               B A C K G R O U N D













This Aztec agricultural deity is among the features of an altar unearthed last week in Mexico City's central Zocalo Square. Archaeologists say the discovery of the altar and a nearby monolith could be the most significant Aztec find in recent years.

Photograph by
Claudio Cruz
/AP



National Geographic
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« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2009, 10:52:26 am »








                          Aztec Temple Found in Mexico City "Exceptional," Experts Say






Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
October 5, 2006

Archaeologists working in the heart of Mexico City have discovered an altar and a monolith that date back more than 500 years to Aztec times.

The finds may be one of the most significant Aztec discoveries in years. 

The altar depicts the Aztec rain god Tlaloc and was uncovered last weekend at the Aztec main temple, Templo Mayor, near mexico City's central Zocalo Square.

The 11-foot (3.5-meter) monolith, which is still mostly buried, is potentially the more important discovery. Some archaeologists speculate the stone slab could be part of an entrance to an underground chamber.

"This is a really impressive and exceptional Aztec monolith," said Leonardo López Luján, an archaeologist at the Museo del Templo Mayor.
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« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2009, 10:59:02 am »











Human Sacrifices



The Aztec empire encompassed much of modern-day central Mexico. It reached its height about 500 years ago.

The Aztec were a deeply religious people who built monumental works. Templo Mayor, or the Great Temple, was the biggest pyramid of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.

Spanish conquistadors destroyed the temple when they razed the city in 1521. Mexico City is built on top of the ruins of Tenochtitlan.

The temple was first excavated in 1978 after electricity workers found a giant carving of an Aztec goddess at the site. Remains of the lower portions of the temple complex, buried underneath the city, have since been unearthed.

A team of archaeologists led by Álvaro Barrera discovered the altar and monolith on the western side of the temple site.

The altar, which probably dates back to the kingdom of Motecuhzoma I (1440-1469), is made of stone and earth and covered with stucco. It has a frieze of the god Tlaloc and another figure depicting an agricultural deity.

Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility, was greatly feared among the Aztec, who drowned children to appease him.



(See a related National Geographic magazine feature on

"Mexico's Pyramid of Death.") 



"This is another fabulous discovery from the Great Temple precinct, and there are bound to be many more buried objects yet unearthed," said Susan Gillespie, an Aztec expert at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

"What is significant about this find is the early date of the altar frieze, evidenced by the cruder style of the bas-relief compared to the many late Aztec sculptures that have been recovered," she added.

"With such finds archaeologists can begin to more firmly trace the changes in state-sponsored religious practices at the Great Temple."

(Read related story: "Ancient Pyramid Found at Mexico City Christian Site" [April 2006].)
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« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2009, 11:00:26 am »










Imperial Style



The giant monolith, meanwhile, is believed to be standing in its original position. The rectangular piece is still partly buried, and archaeologists can only see one of its sides.

López Luján estimates that the stone, which he says comes from the Chiquihuite stone formation north of Mexico City, could weigh as much as 12 tons (11 metric tons).

The monolith corresponds to the last phase of the Aztec empire, from 1487 to 1520.

"It is a typical monument of Aztec imperial style," López Luján said.

The upper face of the monolith has deep carvings.

"Taking into account its position, the form, and what I can see from a side, it should represent the Earth God (Tlaltecuhtli), the Earth Goddess (Tlaltecuhtli, Coatlicue), or a nocturnal deity such as Itzpaplotl of Coatlicue," López Luján said.

Some archaeologists speculate it could lead into an underground chamber.

"The importance of the monolith is what we are going to discover," Alberto Diaz, a member of the archeological team, told the Reuters news agency.

"It's likely that it is part of a chamber, of some offering. We won't know until we get close. First we have to get the stone out."
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« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2009, 11:13:32 am »










                                  Untouched Tomb of Aztec King on Verge of Discovery?






Eliza Barclay
for National Geographic News
July 13, 2009

After nearly 30 years in the field, archaeologist Leonardo López Luján may be on the verge of the discovery of a lifetime: the only known tomb of an Aztec king.

An air of excitement has been thickening around Mexico's Templo Mayor (Great Temple) since 2006, when excavations near the temple revealed a stone monolith with a carving of an Aztec goddess. 

Recently the anticipation intensified with the discovery of a richly decorated canine skeleton near a sealed entrance.

The animal was found wearing wooden earflaps mounted with turquoise mosaic, a collar of greenstone beads, and golden bells around its four feet.

But López Luján, a senior researcher at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City, remains cool and cautious.

The skeleton could be that of a dog or a Mexican wolf—a question López Luján's team hopes to clear up with DNA testing.

"It would be very important if it turns out to be a dog, as it would tell us that we are close to arriving at a funeral context," he said.

The skeleton "could represent the dog that accompanied the deceased to the other side and helped them to cross a river called Chicnahuapan, one of the dangers before arriving at the ninth and deepest level of the underworld," López Luján said.

Many ancient Mesoamerican cultures, including the Aztec, believed that dogs escorted their masters to the afterlife, he added, and archaeologists have discovered many dog skeletons alongside Mesoamerican human remains.
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« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2009, 11:14:46 am »









Unlooted Tomb?



The Templo Mayor canine skeleton was found next to a stone box that contained the remains of a golden eagle, flint sacrificial knives, crustacean shells, and balls of copal resin—tree sap thought to have been used in various substances, such as incense, medicine, and glue.

Recent excavations also uncovered unbroken plaster seals made of lime and sand.


The existence of multiple seals suggests that the tomb, if it's there, could be a collective crypt containing the king and his successors, López Luján said.

"Each time they buried a newly deceased [dignitary], they sealed the entrance with a plaster seal," he speculated.

That the seals are unbroken suggests that the potential tomb has not been looted.

If there is a royal tomb behind the seals, López Luján would expect to find the ruler's ashes in stone or ceramic containers as well as the remains of servants, accompanied by personal objects and more offerings from the funeral rites.

The tomb, López Luján says, would not be as large as that of Tutankhamun in Egypt or the Maya funeral chambers of Copán in Honduras, "because the Mexicas [Aztecs] never build arches or vaults. It might be a very small room full of offerings."



(Related: "Ancient Maya Tomb Found: Upright Skeleton, Unusual Location.")
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« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2009, 11:20:52 am »









Slow Going



Despite rising expectations, the archaeologist said he and his team must be patient.

Only by working slowly and methodically will the team be able to reconstruct the funerary customs and other artifacts that could shed light on the Aztec economy, political system, and religion as it existed before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s.

And now the workers must grapple with yet more challenges: the weather and a high water table.

"We have to go very slow," he said, "because now we are in the rainy season."
« Last Edit: July 14, 2009, 11:24:40 am by Bianca » Report Spam   Logged

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