Researchers working on an archaeological salvage project related to construction of a passenger train between Querétaro and Mexico City discovered a 1,000-year-old stone altar. The discovery was first reported in March, and was uncovered within the Tula Archaeological Monument Zone, a Toltec site in the central state of Hidalgo, according to Mexico’s INAH (the National Institute of Anthropology and History).
When the three-level altar was excavated from the test pit, the project archaeologists discovered four human skulls abutting the monument, along with several long bones, which are believed to be femurs. There is also a black ceramic bowl, fragments of obsidian, and several blades with the altar. It is about three feet long on each side and is made up of andesite, river stones, and basalt rock.
“Each discovery like this expands our knowledge of one of the great civilizations of Mesoamerica,” said Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Mexico’s secretary of culture. She went on to explain that the project “reinforces a central conviction of our cultural policy: Mexico’s archaeological heritage is the memory of our peoples and the State assumes the responsibility to investigate, safeguard and transmit it to present and future generations.”
Víctor Francisco Heredia Guillén, who is overseeing the project, told INAH that the remains are likely related to the body parts of the individuals that were offered as sacrifices.
A state laboratory in Mexico will ultimately determine more information about the remains (e.g., age, sex, and possibly even cause or method of death).
