In addition to his navy achievements, Moctezuma I is remembered for his deal with the cultural and spiritual growth of Tenochtitlán. He promoted the development and ornament of many temples and monuments, together with the Templo Mayor, a very powerful ceremonial heart of the Mexica civilization.

“When the Mexica subdued these peoples, the figurines were already relics, some of them are more than 1,000 years old, and presumably served as cult effigies, which the Mexica appropriated as spoils of war,” explains Luján.

Aguirre and Marín, who additionally labored with Sofía Benítez Villalobos, a specialist in restoring artifacts, have concluded that, after they have been delivered to Tenochtitlán, the sculptures underwent a ritual that reworked them and included them into the spiritual lifetime of Tenochtitlán. They level to traces of facial portray that the Mexica added to the collectible figurines, related to the god of rain, Tlaloc.

In addition to the sculptures, providing 186 included two earrings within the form of rattlesnakes and a complete of 137 beads made of varied inexperienced stones, accompanied by sand and 1,942 completely different parts from the ocean together with shells, snails, and corals.

Originally from the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, a area subdued by the Triple Alliance within the time of the primary Moctezuma, the seashells have been restored, and the accountability for his or her organic identification lies with Belem Zúñiga Arellano, a member of the Proyecto Templo Mayor staff.

The discovery of this providing builds on archaeologists’ curiosity in verifying a sample noticed in earlier choices, particularly 18, 19, and 97. These consisted of stone chests that have been buried as a part of dedication choices underneath monumental serpent heads situated on the platform of the Templo Mayor. All these choices might present a greater understanding of how the Aztecs seen the Templo Mayor.

“In the classic Nahuatl language, these chests were known as tepetlacalli, from tetl, or stone, and petlacalli, a box made of mats. In their homes, the Mexica would store their most precious belongings—fine feathers, jewelry, and cotton garments—in chests made from petate (a type of palm). If we look at the Templo Mayor, which represents a sacred mountain full of provisions, we can imagine the priests storing in these ‘stone chests’ the quintessential symbols of water and fertility: sculptures of the rain gods, green stone beads, shells, and snails,” López Luján explains.

By 2024, the Proyecto Templo Mayor plans to ask the Archaeology Council of Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, the federal government physique that administers the entire nation’s archaeological websites, for permission to briefly take away a serpent’s head situated on the northern aspect of the Templo Mayor. It is probably going that much more treasures will quickly see the sunshine of day once more.

This story was originally published by Wired en Español. It was translated and tailored by John Newton.