16th-Century Aztec Burials Reveal Blend of Traditions

News July 6, 2017

(Courtesy María de la Luz Escobedo, INAH)
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Mexico Colhuacatonco burials
(Courtesy María de la Luz Escobedo, INAH)

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO—According to a report by Agence France-Presse, archaeologists led by María de la Luz Escobedo of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History uncovered a stone dwelling with polished floors in the Colhuacatonco neighborhood of Mexico City, where elite Aztecs are thought to have tried to resist the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan by preserving their customs and traditions. The excavation team found the sixteenth-century remains of three adults and four children buried in the fetal position in the corners of the home and at its entrances. A coyote figurine, a shell bracelet, two small obsidian knives, and ceramics were found in the graves, along with figurines of people wearing non-Aztec hats. “What we detect in the materials is ‘that which is Mexican,’ the blending that began to take place after the Spanish conquest,” Escobedo explained. To read in-depth about excavations of the Aztec capital, go to "Under Mexico City."

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