Huitzilopochtli altar made from starfish and jaguar bones found in Mexico City

Starfish burials are not uncommon at the Templo Mayor, a cult complex in Tenochtitlan.

(modern Mexico City).However, the latest find is not only the most numerous. For the first time, archaeologists were able to find a specimen of a starfish preserved in its original form. The remains of other echinoderms lost their shape and collapsed after the soft tissue decomposed.

Archaeologists believe that the preserved marinethe star was the first one brought to this altar. As a result, under the weight of the bones of the jaguar and other objects of the altar, she plunged into a fabric substrate, which conserved the find. The diameter of the star is 22 cm. The researchers determined that it is Nidorellia armata. They believe that all other echinoderms found in this burial belong to the same species.

The star Nidorellia armata is also calledchocolate star because of its beige color and black spots, reminiscent of chocolate chip cookies. Researchers believe that it was because of the color, similar to the skin of a jaguar, that the Aztecs chose starfish as an offering.

Photo: Meliton Tapia,National Institute of Archeology and History of Mexico

According to researchers, the altar was created around1500, when the Aztec empire was at its peak. At this time, the peoples who inhabited modern Mexico traded with various parts of Mesoamerica. It was the developed connections that made it possible to deliver to Tenochtitlan corals from the Gulf of Mexico, starfish caught in the Pacific Ocean, and jaguars, which were probably brought from Soconusco (now the territory near the borders of Mexico and Guatemala).

“Most of the peoples of Mesoamerica believed thatthe origin of the world is connected with the sea, therefore, marine organisms were treated as relics, says archaeologist Miguel Baez Perez. “In the case of the Aztecs, the military power of the state allowed them to bring thousands of marine objects and recreate the water world in Tenochtitlan itself.”

Based on an analysis of historical sources and locationDuring the excavations, the researchers decided that the altar was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and patron of Tenochtitlan. This is confirmed by a spear thrower (analogous to a sling for throwing darts), found next to the bones of a jaguar, and the choice of animal for the offering.

“This altar is one of the largest we found at the Templo Mayor,” adds Baez Perez. “Until we explored about 30-40 cm deep and do not understand the full scale of the discovery.”

Read more

"James Webb" took the clearest photo of a star in history

At a depth of 8,000 meters, scientists have found strange bacteria: they were not expected to be seen there

Scientists stumble upon 1,500-year-old archaeological anomaly