Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have unearthed a domestic structure containing three human burials, a stone tlecuil, and a significant collection of Aztec III–style ceramics.
According to the archaeologists, these findings are linked to Late Postclassic Tlatelolca settlements dating from 1325 to 1521.
The Tlatelolca were part of the Mexica, a Nahuatl-speaking people who arrived in what is now central Mexico in the 13th century.
They broke away from the Mexica as a dissident group and founded Mexico-Tlatelolco, emerging as an altepetl, or city-state. Following the Battle of Tlatelolco in 1473, Tlatelolco was subsumed by Tenochtitlan and forced to pay tribute to Tenochtitlan every eighty days.
The domestic structure was unearthed along Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas in the Guerrero neighbourhood, a short distance from the Tlatelolco Archaeological Zone.
Project director, Jimena Rivera Escamilla, reported that studies have already identified evidence of three distinct periods of Mexica and Tlatelolca occupation. One of the most notable findings is the absence of lakebed deposits in the area.
This suggests the presence of stable ground during the Late Postclassic period, offering valuable clues about the boundaries of the ancient islet and the settlement zones between Tlatelolco and Tenochtitlan.
To map the area’s stratigraphy, archaeologists opened nine exploratory trenches, each measuring two metres per side, along with a test pit and a 3.85-metre-deep well. These revealed 24 layers of clay, indicating multiple phases of human occupation and modification of the terrain.
The three burials correspond to the most recent of these occupation phases, while earlier layers contained traces of walls, floor fragments, and the stone tlecuil.
According to the archaeologists, the tlecuil—together with spindle whorls, bowls, multicoloured obsidian blades, figurines, and a seal depicting a monkey linked to the wind god Ehécatl—suggests that the structure once served as a domestic household belonging to a family of moderate social standing.
One of the burials is that of a young infant, who was placed face-up in an oval pit along with offerings of a Texcoco-style biconical cup and animal bones. Another burial is a newborn, while the third is a young adult positioned in a foetal posture.
Header Image Credit : Melitón Tapia, INAH
Sources : INAH
