Archaeology is truly amazing because you never know what you are going to find from one day to the next. Most days are relatively normal and not much is found but sometimes, a find of historical significance is located.
One place where archaeology often turns up amazing discoveries is in Mexico. The ancient Aztec people left behind a footprint before they disappeared, many hundreds of years ago.
One footprint was a huge pyramid, the Pyramid of the Sun. This pyramid is thought to have been built around 100 CE and it is a very impressive monument, to say the least.
Initially, there weren’t many artifacts found on the site, which was surprising considering how large it was. In 2011, researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico found some things during the dig that were absolutely amazing.
Archaeologists had already made the tunnel back in the 1930s and they used that tunnel in 2011 to get to the mother-rock level. That is when they found some clay pottery, bones of animals, and some serpentine human figurines. There was also something else that they found in the area, a mask.
That green mask was absolutely amazing and it was unique because it was the only one that was ever found in the region. It is thought that it was left as a part of an inauguration ritual when the temple was first constructed.
When you look at the mask, you can’t help but notice that it appears to be very lifelike. Many people feel as if it was the portrait of somebody who lived at the time. That leads us to wonder, who is in a portrait of?
When it was posted on social media, people couldn’t help but comment on the lifelike way that the portrait looked. That mask shared a resemblance to something that was part of our more modern life, a movie from the 1990s, Jim Carry’s ‘The Mask’.
People immediately started joking about how you should not be putting the mask on your face. Others were talking about Jim Carry himself, saying that he must now be in the chat.
That was a funny way to look at it, but the truth behind the mask is still something that is a mystery. It was based around the ancient city of Teotihuacan and the visiting Aztecs gave the temple its name. The mask, however, is still unknown.
In addition, there is very little that is known about the city that houses the temple, which at one time may have held about 200,000 people. That’s the city of Teotihuacan and why they may have suddenly disappeared is still a mystery today.
There are many things that have yet to be learned about this ancient world, but archaeologists are hopeful that they will find more in this area of the temple.
According to a director of the Integral Conservation Project for the Plaza of the Moon, Verónica Ortega: “These large offering complexes constitute the sacred heart of the city of Teotihuacán, the reason why everyone saw it as the mecca of the civilization.
“What can be found inside them will help unravel the relationship this ancient metropolis had with other regions of Mesoamerica.”
I hope they are able to unravel some of those mysteries for all of us.
