Heavy Rain Uncovers 1,000-Year-Old Skeleton of Woman

Senior Science Reporter

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Days of heavy rain in central Mexico have revealed the skeletal remains of a woman's body, buried beneath what was once an old house.

The skeleton was found by residents in the state of Morelos, who notified officials. After investigating the body, it was determined to be around 1,000 years old, according to archaeologists at the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

The burial was discovered in the lower section of the El Tlatoani Archaeological Zone in Tlayacapan. The site has been maintained as a research and conservation project for the last 12 years

Toltec skull — This photo shows the skull of Toltec woman who lived 1,000 years ago in Mexico. The woman's body was revealed after days of heavy rain. INAH

The woman was found lying on her right hand side, with her skull facing north and her upper and lower extremities flexed as if she had been wrapped up in some kind of cloth.

Fragmented ceramic objects were also found around her grave, including bowls and a small human-like figurine. According to archaeologist Raúl Francisco González Quezada, this suggests that the woman was most likely a member of Toltec society, a pre-Columbian civilization that pre-dated the Aztecs, reaching prominence between the years A.D. 950 and A.D. 1150.

The Toltecs were revered for their fine craftsmanship and renowned as fierce warriors. Their urban center was based in the ancient city of Tollan, near the modern town of Tula, about 50 miles north of Mexico City. The city was destroyed in the mid-12^th century by the Aztecs, but the Toltecs' legacy lives on in their sculptures and architecture.

Toltec object — Objects found in the woman's grave included this small figurine. INAH

The archaeologists also deduced that the grave was most likely a domestic burial—that is, a grave built underneath a person's house. This is because the site of the burial was once a domestic terrace that would have been lined with houses.

Such burials were commonplace at the time and previous studies have uncovered numerous skeletons from around the same period buried in the same way.

Below the grave, the researchers found more ceramic objects, including several tripod bowls with elongated stems, which they believe may have dated back to between 500 and 150 B.C. According to the researchers, these are the oldest artifacts ever found in the region.

Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History will perform further analysis on the skeleton to learn more about the woman.

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