Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered two stuccoed high reliefs in Tetlatlahuca, Mexico, offering new insight into the region’s pre-Hispanic past.
The objects were uncovered during an emergency archaeological excavation launched in February 2026 at Cerro de las Tres Cruces, located in Tetlatlahuca, Tlaxcala.
Dating to the Epiclassic period (AD 650–900), archaeologists suggest that the carvings symbolise the authority of an ancient Indigenous lineage and hold ritual or symbolic significance.
Archaeologist Ramón Santacruz Cano said that while the reliefs are incomplete, they include fertility and elite power references, such as serpent bodies; one of them also preserves the distal part of a forked tongue and fragments of fangs that could be associated with the god Tláloc (the god of rain, water, lightning, and fertility).
Serpent motifs were central to Mesoamerican symbolism, often associated with authority and sacred spaces. Similar imagery has been identified at major Epiclassic centres such as Xochicalco and Cacaxtla, typically in elite or ceremonial contexts.
The reliefs were found within what appears to be a palatial courtyard, indicating the presence of a larger residential or administrative complex. Excavations have also revealed floors, stucco-coated walls and fragments of mural paintings resembling the “Cacaxtla style”, reinforcing connections to elite traditions.
The discovery contributes to broader debates on Epiclassic political organisation. Rather than being concentrated in a single centre like Cacaxtla, power may have been distributed across multiple settlements, including Tetlatlahuca, Teacalco and San Juan Huactzinco.
“The high reliefs were reinforced with compatible materials to prevent their collapse, and in the short term they will be covered to ensure their preservation until conditions are suitable for public access. The Tetlatlahuca City Council committed to installing fencing to delimit the archaeological site and to continuing to provide security for it,” said INAH.
Sources : INAH
