8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Circular Structure Linked to the Cult of Kukulcán Discovered in Mexico

A team of researchers with the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has unearthed the remains of a circular temple that may have been built in honor of the Maya serpent deity Kukulcán, the Maya counterpart to the Aztec wind god Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl.

Overshadowed by more famous Maya sites like Chichen Itza and Palenque, the lesser-explored El Tigre also known as Itzamkanac in Campeche State was the capital of the Acalán Maya.

The early center of the city dates from the late Maya Preclassic period, while the majority of structures standing today were constructed during the early Classic period.

The roughly 1,000-year-old temple served as one of the ancient Maya’s last settlements before the civilization collapsed, according to a translated National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) statement.

The recently discovered structure dates to the period 1000-1200 A.D. and could be linked to the cult of Kukulcán, who is equivalent to the wind god Quetzalcóatl of Aztec mythology, INAH said.

Excavations revealed that the circular structure contained two levels and at one time would’ve been capped off with a flat roof. It is similar to several other structures that have previously been found across the Yucatán at sites such as Edzná, Becán, Uxmal, and Chichen Itzá.

Temple at El Tigre site, Campeche, Mexico. Photo: INAH
Temple at El Tigre site, Campeche, Mexico. Photo: INAH

The structure’s significance stems from its age, which corresponds to a period when the ancient Maya settlement maintained strong ties with other regions of Mesoamerica, including central Mexico, Oaxaca, and the Gulf Coast. These connections would have allowed religious ideas to spread between the Chontal Maya and other regions. The cult of Kukulcán, for example, may have been influenced by the Quetzalcóatl cult, despite its origins in earlier Maya traditions.

The site was mentioned in the Chontal chief Don Pablo Paxbolón’s (1575-1576) Paxbolón Maldonado Papers, which reported that the site had structures dedicated to four main deities of the Post-Classic Maya era, one of which was Kukulcán, the Maya invocation of the Aztec Quetzalcóatl.

Due to this, the archaeologist Vargas Pacheco has proposed that El Tigre matches the Itzamkanac of the historical sources since these agree with the location cited and the archaeological data on its identification.

Discoveries in the Campeche region have revealed intricate city planning, monumental architecture, and detailed reliefs depicting rulers, gods, and everyday life. The glyphs and inscriptions found in the region have provided valuable insights into the political, economic, and religious aspects of the ancient Maya.

INAH

Cover Photo: INAH

Related Articles

Archaeologists Unearth Monumental Relief Depicting Assyrian King and Major Deities in Ancient Nineveh

15 May 2025

15 May 2025

A team of archaeologists from Heidelberg University has made an extraordinary discovery in the ancient city of Nineveh, near modern-day...

Export barred on roundel manuscript gifted to Queen Elizabeth I by Archbishop

12 September 2022

12 September 2022

A rare presentation manuscript that Archbishop of Canterbury Matthew Parker gave to Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 has been sold...

Inscription dedicated to Roman Emperor Hadrian found in ancient city of Blaundus

26 November 2024

26 November 2024

An inscription dedicated to the Roman Emperor Hadrian was discovered during the ongoing excavations at the ancient city of Blaundus...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

Archaeologists deciphered the Sabaean inscription on a clay jar finds link between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

3 April 2023

3 April 2023

Archaeologists deciphered a partially preserved inscription that was found on the neck of a large jar dated back to the...

Early Female Emperors in Japan “Empress Kōken”

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

Born into the aristocratic Fujiwara clan, this extraordinary woman first ascended to the throne as Empress Kōken and became the...

Women May Have Ruled El Algar in the Bronze Age

12 March 2021

12 March 2021

The diadem found in the Bronze Age tomb belonging to the El Algar culture may have belonged to a queen....

Remarkable Roman mosaic discovered near London Bridge in Southwark

22 February 2022

22 February 2022

A team of archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology have announced the discovery well-preserved Roman mosaic that may have...

1,600-year-old Roman-era wine shop unearthed in Greece

29 January 2024

29 January 2024

A team led by Scott Gallimore of Wilfrid Laurier University and Martin Wells of Austin College discovered a 1,600-year-old Roman-era...

Scotland’s oldest tartan discovered in Highlands bog

1 April 2023

1 April 2023

According to new research, a piece of fabric discovered in a bog in the Scottish Highlands may be the oldest...

A Roman sarcophagus bearing the title of “Emperor’s Protector” was found for the first time in Anatolia

29 April 2022

29 April 2022

A sarcophagus carrying the title of “Emperor’s protector” was discovered in the province of Kocaeli in western Turkey. With the...

A coin of Queen Fastrada and Charlemagne found – First of its kind

8 May 2023

8 May 2023

A coin purchased by the Charlemagne Center in Aachen, Germany, bears the name of Queen Fastrada. This is the first...

Mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep ‘unwrapped’ for the first time in 3,500 years!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Egyptian scientists have digitally unwrapped the 3,500-year-old mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I. For the first time, a team in Egypt...

Two new fragments of the Fasti Ostienses, a kind of chronicle engraved on marble slabs, have been found in the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park

19 August 2023

19 August 2023

Two new fragments of the Fasti Ostienses have been discovered in the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park, following investigations carried out...

‘4,200-year-old Zombie grave’ discovered in Germany

22 April 2024

22 April 2024

Archaeologists excavating in East Germany have found a 4,200-year-old grave near Oppin in Saxony-Anhalt containing the skeleton of a man...