Colossal offering uncovered at Templo Mayor

"The greenstone figurines are carved in the Mezcala style from the present-day Guerrero area. The Mezcala figurines were already antiques when they were deposited, some of them as much as 1,000 years old. Archaeologists believe they were cult effigies that were plundered by the Mexica when they conquered the Guerrero region. They were brought to the capital as war booty and red and white pigments were applied to reconfigure the figurines with the attributes of the god Tlaloc."

"The newly-discovered offerings, numbered 186, 187 and 189, were found in three stone chests, known as tepetlacalli. Offering 186 was unearthed in 2023, and the next two in the most recent dig season. The chests, their contents and their date of deposition matches three other offerings found in previous excavations. Offerings 18 and 19, discovered in the late 1970s, were found on the west side of the great temple pyramid, and Offering 97 was found in 1991 on the north side."

"The offerings date to Stage IV of the Templo Mayor, between 1440 and 1469, the regnal years of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina (meaning the Archer of the Sky), the fifth king of Tenochtitlan and second emperor of the Aztec Empire. When the previous three offerings were found, archaeologists hypothesized that there might be another three offerings on the east and south of the pyramid. That has now been proven true."

The Templo Mayor Project in Mexico City has uncovered three ceremonial stone chests containing dozens of greenstone figurines carved in the Mezcala style from Guerrero, some dating back 1,000 years. These ancient figurines were repainted with Tlaloc attributes after being seized as war booty during Mexica conquests. Combined with three previously discovered offerings from the 1970s and 1991, six deposits now total 83 greenstone figurines along with thousands of marine elements, copal, tar, and monumental sculptures weighing up to a ton. All deposits date to Stage IV of the Templo Mayor, between 1440 and 1469, during the reign of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, the fifth king of Tenochtitlan. The discoveries confirm archaeologists' earlier hypothesis about symmetrical offerings positioned around the pyramid.

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