17 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Rare Ceremonial Knives Offering Discovered in the Great Basement of Tlatelolco, Mexico

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)  have unearthed a very special votive offering during excavations at Temple “I,” also known as the Great Basement, within the Tlatelolco archaeological zone in present-day Mexico City.

The offering, which was found inside a stone box or cist, contains copal blocks and a sizable assortment of different types of obsidian knives.

The finding provides invaluable insights into the ceremonial practices of the Tlatelolca people between 1375 and 1418 AD. This amazing discovery comes just in time for the 80th anniversary of discoveries at the Tlatelolco Archaeological Zone, which is situated right in the heart of modern-day Mexico City.

The Mexica city of Tlatelolco was founded in 1338 when a group broke away from Tenochtitlan and settled on an island to the north. This zone, once a pre-Columbian altepetl or city-state, was inhabited by the Tlatelolca people, who were Mexica Nahuatl-speaking and settled in the region during the 13th century. It remained independent until 1473 when it became dependent on Tenochtitlán after conflicts.

Photo: Mauricio Marat/INAH

Archaeologists Francisco Javier Laue Padilla and Paola Silva Álvarez discovered the offering while investigating a crack near the central altar of the Great Basement.

The find consists of a stone box containing ceremonial offerings placed between CE 1375 and 1418 to consecrate an architectural expansion of Temple “I”, also known as the Great Basement. Archaeologists discovered 59 pocket knives, 7 obsidian knives, and copal blocks inside the stone box. These objects were used by Tlatelolca priests and high-ranking officials for self-sacrifice.

In the INAH announcement, Salvador Guilliem Arroyo, the project director, emphasized the significance of the Great Basement, believed to be analogous to the House of the Tenochca Eagles of Tenochtitlan, and dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, the “lord of the smoking obsidian mirror”, a major, if not the primary Aztec god.

The site of the votive offering of obsidian knives at Tlatelolco. Photo: Mauricio Marat/INAH
The site of the votive offering of obsidian knives at Tlatelolco. Photo: Mauricio Marat/INAH

Every component in the offering box has great symbolic significance and may be connected to gods like Tezcatlipoca. The thorough examination of these artifacts will deepen our comprehension of the Tlatelolca people’s ceremonial customs and the immensely rich and varied Mesoamerican pantheon.

This important discovery is part of the conservation efforts of the Tlatelolco Project’s conservation efforts, which were started in 1987 by archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. Using archeological remnants, the project seeks to compare Tlatelolco with Tenochtitlan, its sister city.

INAH

Cover Photo: Mauricio Marat/INAH

Related Articles

World treasure that cannot be displayed in the Local Museum in Pljevlja, Montenegro

30 July 2023

30 July 2023

Despite representing one of the most valuable portable cultural assets of Montenegro, the Pljevlja Diatreta is not accessible to visitors. The...

In Parion, one of the most important cities of the Troas region, 2,000-year-old mother-child graves were unearthed

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Parion, the most important harbor city in the Hellenistic era, have uncovered  2,000-year-old...

Monumental Roman complex discovered in France

19 March 2023

19 March 2023

In the city of Reims in northeastern France, archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman-era monumental complex dating from the 2nd...

Pompeii Reopening Antiquarium

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

The Antiquarium, a permanent museum within the Pompeii Archaeological pact, reopens. Opened in 1873, the Antiquarium was bombed during World...

Archaeologists Discovered Submerged Stoa Complex in Ancient Salamis, Greece

27 October 2023

27 October 2023

Archaeologists exploring the east coast of Salamis, the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, discovered a large, long, and...

Persian plateau unveiled as crucial hub for early human migration out of Africa, study suggests

29 March 2024

29 March 2024

60,000 to 70,000 years ago, our species Homo sapiens walked out of Africa and began to find new homes around...

Mesopotamian bricks reveal the strength of Earth’s ancient magnetic field

19 December 2023

19 December 2023

Ancient Mesopotamian bricks reveal the details of a curious strengthening of the Earth’s magnetic field, according to a new study...

Salt May Have Been Used as Money in Exchanges

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

Salt has always been a precious metal. Salt was needed in many areas, from the preservation of food to the...

Three-room Urartian tomb with liquid offering area (libation) found in eastern Turkey

18 January 2023

18 January 2023

A three-room Urartian tomb with a rock-cut libation (liquid offering area) to offer gifts to the gods was unearthed in...

A center on the Anatolian Mesopotamian trade route; Tavsanli Mound

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Excavations at Tavşanlı mound, which is known to be the first settlement in Western Anatolia during the Bronze Age, continue....

Neanderthals caused ecosystems to change 125,000 years ago

16 December 2021

16 December 2021

Researchers say Neanderthals changed the ecosystem by turning forests into grasslands 125,000 years ago. Around 125,000 years ago, these close...

Excavations at Coleshill may rewrite English Civil War history

5 February 2023

5 February 2023

Archaeologists excavating the site of Coleshill Manor in Warwickshire have revealed evidence of what could be one of the first...

2000-year-old Ancient Greek ‘graduate school yearbook’ carved in stone found

5 June 2022

5 June 2022

Historians have discovered that an ancient Greek inscription on a marble slab in the collection of the National Museums of...

Egyptian Pharaoh Slain in Battle Because of the Hippos

17 February 2021

17 February 2021

The mummy of Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa II, found in 1880, was re-analyzed. When it was found, the deep wounds on...

31 Unknown Shipwrecks, Including a Rare Sailing Ship, Discovered in Lake Constance

13 August 2025

13 August 2025

In a groundbreaking underwater archaeology project, researchers have discovered 31 previously unknown shipwrecks lying silently on the floor of Lake...