28 March 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

Remains of a 5-year-old girl found under Real Alcázar in Spain

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

The body of a five-year-old fair-haired girl who lived in the late Middle Ages and was most likely of noble...

3,500-year-old perfectly preserved ancient frozen bear found in Siberian

28 February 2023

28 February 2023

As the permafrost on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island in eastern Siberia melted, a mummified brown bear that lived more than three...

A hungry Badger uncovers the largest collection of such coins ever discovered in northern Spain

11 January 2022

11 January 2022

Archaeologists have uncovered a rich trove of 209 Roman-era coins in northwestern Spain, due to the apparent efforts of a...

Prehistoric Cave Art Handprints With Missing Fingertips Point to Ritual Amputation

3 January 2024

3 January 2024

Researchers who examined prehistoric cave art in France and Spain, a new interpretation of Paleolithic cave art proposes that prehistoric...

Paleontologists say world’s oldest-known burial site found in South Africa

6 June 2023

6 June 2023

American explorer and scientist Lee Berger in South Africa said they have found the oldest-known burial site in the world,...

Turkish researchers to work in Mount Ağrı believed to host Noah’s Ark remains

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) has started in the area where the...

New insights into Scotland’s ‘bodies in the bog’

31 March 2022

31 March 2022

Fourteen bodies were found at Cramond near Edinburgh in 1975. New research suggests that two of the remains of these...

Britain’s Longest Ancient Monument ‘Offa’s Dyke’ to be Restored

21 June 2021

21 June 2021

Offa’s Dyke is a long, linear earthwork that roughly parallels the English-Welsh boundary. Offa is also known as the longest...

World-first recreation of ancient Egyptian garden open

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Have you ever wondered what an ancient Egyptian garden was like?  This is your opportunity to find out! The first...

3600-year-old lead weights were unearthed in the Kumluca Bronze Age Shipwreck, one of the oldest shipwrecks in the world

27 November 2022

27 November 2022

Underwater archaeological work continues in the Bronze Age shipwreck off Antalya Kumluca, one of the oldest shipwrecks in the world....

New Insights From Researchers About The World’s Longest Aqueduct

11 May 2021

11 May 2021

The Roman Empire’s aqueducts are magnificent specimens of the art of architecture. Although centuries have passed since these aqueducts were...

Archaeologists Discovered a Luxury Roman Village in Southeastern Sicily

17 October 2024

17 October 2024

In the province of Catania, archaeologists have excavated the remains of a Roman house with a mosaic floor dating from...

2,000-year-old Monumental Tomb of Roman Elite discovered in Apollon Smintheus sanctuary in Türkiye

2 January 2024

2 January 2024

A 2,000-year-old monumental tomb from the Roman era has been unearthed at the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary in the village of...

“Oracle Bone Inscriptions”, the world’s oldest writing system that has not disappeared in history

5 June 2023

5 June 2023

“Jiaguwen,” or the oracle bone inscriptions, are thought to be the earliest fully-developed characters as well as the source of...

Zeugma of the Black Sea to be will Restore

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hadrianaupolis Antique City is located 3 km west of Eskiyapar district of Karabük. This ancient city has been known as...