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pre-hispanic

Gold items in situ on the floor of the Coclé lord’s tomb. Source: Panama Ministry of Culture

Gold-Filled Tomb of Pre-Hispanic Lord Unearthed in Panama

For gold lovers, it doesn’t get much better than this discovery at the archaeological park of El Caño in Panama. Archaeologists have unveiled the tomb of an esteemed Coclé lord from the pre-Hispanic...
Left, stacked bones of pre-Hispanic burial system; Right, complete skeleton. Source:  Claudia Servín Rosas/INAH

Stacked Skulls and Bones Show Intriguing Pre-Hispanic Funerary System

Investigators have uncovered a burial ground from the pre-Hispanic era in today’s Mexico, which exhibits unique burial practices and how they were carried out in the region. The discovery occurred in...
Landscape of Rancho Quemado, where the Treasure Cave is located with, inset, the atlatl and two wooden darts, found in Treasure Cave, Querétaro, Mexico        Source: Jesús E. Medina V./ INAH

Hunting Instruments Dating Back 1,900 Years Discovered in Mexican Cave

In a small gallery of the Cueva del Tesoro, in Cadereyta de Montes, Querétaro, authorities have recovered one of the few sets of hunting tools from pre-Hispanic times discovered so far in Mexico. It...
A lidar map of the city of Kunguints in the Ecuadorian Amazon reveals ancient streets lined with houses.

Oldest Known Ancient Amazonian Cities Uncovered in Ecuador!

An extensive civilization like nothing ever discovered before has been revealed in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador! This latest discovery is believed to be the oldest human settlement known in the...
Conical tombs at the newly found site in the Lomas de Chapultepec area to the west of present-day Mexico City.		Source: INAH

Artifact Laden Pre-Hispanic, Pre-Volcanic Tombs Excavated in Mexico

Archaeologists in Mexico were digging at a high-altitude village from the Early and Middle Preclassic periods (2500-400 BC), when they found 12 unique cone-shaped, or conical tombs. Inside, they...
A warriors petroglyph found at the La Sabana petroglyph site, lost Pre-Hispanic city near Acapulco city, Mexico.   Source: INAH

Lost Pre-Hispanic City Near Acapulco Yields Astounding Petroglyphs

A find near the Mexican city of Acapulco, in the depths of a sprawling pre-Hispanic city, spanning 334 hectares includes 38 petroglyphs, circular calendars, and a beautiful representation of a rain...
Hand-drawn illustration superimposed over a photo of the pre-Hispanic painting. Source: Frida Mateos / INAH

Painting Linked to Aztec God of Drunkenness Discovered in 16th Century Mexican Convent!

Archaeologists working at a Mexican holy site thought they were rediscovering a lost image of the Virgin Mary. But Mary never wore a feather plume, and seldom was she depicted within red circles. The...
The edge of one of 500 obsidian mine shafts found in Central Mexico recently, which is shedding new light on pre-Hispanic Teotihuacan commerce and trade.

Over 500 Pre-Hispanic Obsidian Mine Shafts Uncovered in Central Mexico

Obsidian mines mined by the pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican tribes of Central Mexico, located just 31 miles (49.88 kilometers) northeast of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, were discovered by...
At the Castle of Huarmey in Peru, Polish archaeologists, led by Dr. Milosz Giersz, have found the pre-Hispanic grave of an elite Wari craftsman with rare grave goods, including jewels and tools (photographs of these have not be released yet). Advanced metal artifacts like those in this main image have already been found by Giersz’s team at Huarmey.                       Source: Milosz Giersz / Faculty of Archeology, University of Warsaw

Elite Wari Craftsman With Jewels And Rare Tools Found at Peruvian Site

The intact 1,300-year-old tomb of an elite Wari craftsman tomb was recently discovered at Peru’s well-known Huarmey Castle archaeological complex. It’s “unique” because it belonged to a craftsman,...
The face of the Chimu culture wooden Chan Chan sculpture recently discovered on the periphery of the giant Chan Chan complex near Trujillo, Peru. Source: Decentralized Directorate of Culture of La Libertad / Peruvian government

Perfectly Preserved Chimu Sculpture Found at Chan Chan, Peru

A perfectly preserved Peruvian Chimu culture sculpture in the form of an intriguing wooden figure, has been found at a ceremonial center near Chan Chan, Trujillo in northern Peru. Dated between 850...
An archaeologist excavates a ceramic artifact at the pre-Hispanic Aztatlán culture settlement in Mexico, hidden beneath the urban sprawl of the west coast port city of Mazatlán.	Source: INAH

Pre-Hispanic Aztatlán Culture Evidence Found Under Mexican Urban Sprawl

Workers carrying out paving and infrastructure work in Mexico’s southern port city of Maztalan stumbled upon ancient human remains from a pre-Hispanic Aztatlán culture settlement. Preliminary...
Left: Machi playing the Kultrún. Behind her it can be seen the inclination of the staggered Rehue . Center: A Rehue in the exhibition of the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. Right: A Rehue as a symbolic figuration of the Tree-Man.			Source: Martin Thomas / Photographic Archive of the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino; Photo by the author: Rafael Videla Eissmann, 2017; Author provided

Araucanian “Staircase to Heaven” Symbolism in the Pre-Hispanic World

One of the fundamental magical-religious symbols of the Lituche-Araucanian cultural substrate of Chile is the Rehue or stepped totem carved in wood. The Rehue is a representation of the Axis Mundi ,...
This spectacular, large Navulá-type monochrome vessel, used in pre-Hispanic Maya rituals, was complete but for one of its two handles.		Source: INAH

Yucatán Cave Was Used For Pre-Hispanic Maya Rituals

A recent pottery find dating to the Late Postclassic Maya period by archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Chemuyil town of Mexico’s Quintana Roo state shows...
One of the Chilca culture burials accidently unearthed by the Calidda gas company in the city of Chilca, 37 miles (60 km) south of Lima Peru.	Source: Calidda

Gas Pipe Workers Accidentally Unearth Chilca Culture Burial in Peru

Workers laying pipes for the gas company Calidda in Chilca, which is 37 miles (60 km) south of Lima, Peru, have recently uncovered the remains of eight people buried together in a Chilca culture...
Large ceramic funerary urns discovered within a mound found in the Los Ríos province of Ecuador. Source: Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural/YGV Prensa Digital

Ancient Indigenous Funerary Urns Unearthed in Ecuador [Images]

This week an unassuming Ecuadorian hacienda became a site of archaeological interest. Workers accidentally discovered a mound containing multiple Pre-Hispanic ceramic funerary urns while using heavy...
A war shield and a bird of prey’s head are two of the Pre-Hispanic symbols discovered in the Mexican tunnel. Source: Edith Camacho, INAH

Pre-Hispanic Symbols Found in a Mexican Tunnel Will be Reburied

In 2019, archaeologists in Ecatepec, México state, found a centuries old tunnel with symbolic imagery. The find was so intriguing that the National Institute of Anthropology and History ( INAH ) had...
Rare Pre-Hispanic Chimú Burial Discovered In Peru

Rare Pre-Hispanic Chimú Burial Discovered In Peru

Archaeologists in northern Peru have unearthed a rare Chimú culture body with three sacred vessels. The Chimú culture existed from approximately 900 AD until 1470 AD and inhabited the northern coast...
‘White Gold’ Seabird Guano Sustained Life in Ancient Atacama

‘White Gold’ Seabird Guano Sustained Life in Ancient Atacama

“White Gold,” or seabird guano fertilizer, is found to have boosted agricultural systems in the pre-Inca civilizations of South America who inhabited Chile’s hellish Atacama Desert. Seabird and bat...
Archaeologists at the excavation site of Tecoaque near Calpulalpan in Mexico have discovered 24,000 bones relating to the 500-year-old “sacrifice and revenge slaughter” events that brought Zultépec-Tecoaque to a bloody end.

Charred Remains Reveal the Ultra-Violent End of Zultépec-Tecoaque

Archaeologists at the excavation site of Tecoaque near Calpulalpan in Mexico have discovered 24,000 bones relating to the 500-year-old “sacrifice and revenge slaughter” events that brought Zultépec-...
Maya Elite List Deciphered At The Temple Of Jaguars

Maya Elite List Deciphered At The Temple Of Jaguars

Researchers in Mexico have deciphered an ancient text revealing the succession of names of the Cocom dynasty royal Maya blood lineage and published a breakthrough book on the subject. The new book...
The Inca Empire: What Made it so Powerful?

The Inca Empire: What Made it so Powerful?

The Inca (also spelled as Inka) Empire was a South American empire that existed between the 15th and 16th centuries. The Inca Empire was the largest pre-Hispanic civilization in South America and...
The local Aymara held a ritual before the vessels were removed.        Source: Ministerio de Culturas y Turismo de Bolivia / Facebook

Tiwanaku Excavation Unearths 1400-Year-Old Ritual Vessels

At Tiwanaku, Bolivia , archaeologists have excavated a number of vessels that are believed to be 1,400 years old making them amongst the very oldest artifacts to be found at the site. Tiwanaku is one...
Head and torso of god Xipe Totec found at Ndachjian–Tehuacán archaeological site

Gruesome Sacrificial Temple of the Macabre Fertility God Xipe Totec Discovered in Mexico

Delighted archaeologists in Mexico have found the first temple dedicated to the ‘Flayed Lord’ or Xipe Tótec, one of the most important Pre-Columbian deities. The find, which included a stone...
A chamber found under the Plaza San Francisco during works on a subway station in Quito Ecuador.

Subway Station or Cultural Preservation? Development Clashes with Patrimony at a World Heritage Site

The city of Quito, Ecuador is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site due to having the best-preserved and extensive historic centers in Latin America. But there is another, much older story below...

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