Zapotec Tomb in Mexico Hailed as ‘Most Significant’ of Last Decade

Archaeologists in southern Mexico unearth a 1,400-year-old artifact Zapotec The discovery of intricate carvings on the tomb has been hailed by experts as the “most significant” find of the past decade.

The tomb was discovered in San Pablo Huizo, Oaxaca, and dates to around 600 AD, according to a statement released last week by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Experts noted the exceptional preservation of the tomb’s features, including a sculpture of an owl perched at the entrance. INAH said a sculpture of a human head could be seen in the owl’s beak, thought to represent the person buried in the tomb. The Zapotec language is still spoken by hundreds of thousands of people in Mexico, and the owl symbolizes night and day in Zapotec culture.

According to the INAH, colorful murals depicting symbols of authority and death were found at the door of the tomb, along with carvings of two figures holding artifacts, who may have been the guardians of the tomb. The tomb chamber contains an “extraordinary” mural painted in ocher, white, green, red and blue, depicting a procession of figures carrying bags of copal, a resin burned as incense during rituals.

“This is the most important archaeological discovery in Mexico in the past decade because of its level of preservation and the information it provides,” Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum told reporters at a news conference.

Mexico’s Culture Minister Claudia Curiel de Icaza reiterated that the site was an “extraordinary discovery,” citing ancient Zapotec social organization, funerary rituals and belief systems revealed in its architecture and murals.

A team from INAH is currently conducting conservation work and ongoing research at the site.