tomb Archives - usatoday24

The Zapotecs have been fascinating archaeologists for years. A 1,400-year-old tomb in Mexico has revealed how they viewed death

January 28, 2026 by usatoday24

“It is the most relevant archaeological discovery of the last decade in Mexico.” Who is speaking It is Claudia Sheinbaum, president of the country, and although it is not unusual for authorities to resort to superlatives when presenting historical findings, in this case the enthusiasm of the Mexican leader seems more than justified. After all, it is not every day that we find jewels like the one that the INAH just located in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca: a tomb from 1,400 years ago that promises to reveal new secrets about one of the most fascinating pre-Hispanic cultures of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. Who is it? The Zapotecs. What has happened? That Mexico has shown (one more time) that still hides first-class archaeological treasures. Your Government has just announced the discovery of a 14-century-old tomb decorated with exceptional paintings and sculptures in the south of the country, in San Pablo HuitzoOaxaca. There the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) has documented a Zapotec tomb dated around the year 600 AD, a large and ornate mausoleum that stands out for its good level of conservation. Its structure and sculptures are so well preserved, in fact, that experts hope they will shed new light on the civilization that erected it. Is it so relevant? Yes. Perhaps the best proof is that the Mexican authorities have not spared congratulations and flattery when referring to the discovery, which the president herself has been in charge of presenting. “We are very proud of the most relevant archaeological discovery of the last decade in our country,” he said. claim Sheinbaum on social networks. Similar words have been used by the Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curielthat has emphasized that same idea: it is not just that the Oaxaca tomb is spacious or rich in decoration, it is that a good part of its structure has managed to remain intact for 1,400 years, so today it offers a valuable ‘historical window’ to historians dedicated to the study of the Zapotec civilization. “This is an exceptional discovery due to its level of conservation and what it shows about the Zapotec culture: its social organization, its funerary rituals and its worldview, preserved in architecture and painting.” What does the tomb show? A combination of murals and sculptures surprising. At the entrance to the antechamber we find a sculpted owl, an image that in the worldview of its pre-Hispanic creators symbolized night and death. The figure is fascinating because its beak hides another surprise: the stuccoed and painted face of a Zapotec lord. Because of this position it stands out, right at the entrance to the mausoleum, archaeologists suspect that it could be a portrait of the ancestor to whom the tomb was dedicated and to whom his descendants turned as an intercessor before the gods. Is there more? Yes. As we move forward we find a decorated lintel with a frieze made up of stone tombstones engraved with “calendrical names”. If we look towards the jambs, another surprise: the figures of a man and a woman dressed in headdresses. Once again, their position has led archaeologists to speculate on their possible role, which in this case would be that of guardians. Already inside the funerary chamber, the walls preserve parts of “an extraordinary mural painting” with ocher, white, green, red and blue colors. In them, their authors portrayed a procession of characters with bags of copal. What do we know about the tomb? Researchers will have to continue studying it to understand it better, but they already have some clues. For example, the dating: they believe that the tomb dates from the late Classic period, around the year 600. They have also come to the conclusion that its sculptures and mural evoke “symbolic representations associated with power and death.” Now it is their turn to continue deciphering its iconography and (just as important) to advance conservation efforts. INAH himself explains that its experts are working to stabilize the mural, which is in a “delicate” state after 14 long centuries exposed to changes in time and the advance of roots and insects. Who were the Zapotecs? If the tomb has generated so much expectation, it is not only because of its good general state of conservation. The tomb is also valuable because it opens a new window to the Zapotecsa pre-Hispanic civilization from Mesoamerica that called themselves Binniza (“people who come from the clouds.” As remember the Mexican Archeology platform, constitute the oldest group in the Oaxacan region and since at least 1400 BC they mainly inhabited the Central Valleys and their surroundings. Its peak was reached between the 4th and 10th centuries AD, with its settlement of Monte Albán standing out above all, one of the most relevant cities in Mesoamerica at its time. It is estimated that it hosted some 35,000 people. The region has such relevant historical and heritage value that in 1987 UNESCO declared the historic center of Oaxaca and Monte Albán as a world heritage site. In recent decades, archaeologists they had already found Zapotec tombs. Images | INAH In Xataka | If Spain believes it has a problem with droughts, it is because it does not know what led the Mayans to collapse: 150 extreme years

Parking lots were the goose that laid the golden eggs for bricks in Spain. Until someone created the tomb of Las Teresitas

December 25, 2025 by usatoday24

The history of the mamotreto The Theresies in Tenerife is not an exception, but one more chapter of a long tradition of shot attempts on the Spanish coastwhere for decades the brick advanced on beaches, marshes and cliffs in the heat of express reclassifications, opaque agreements and the promise of a tourist development that almost never arrived as had been announced. This was his story. Great balls with sea views. From Marbella to The Algarrobicopassing through ghost housing estates, illegal hotels and maritime fronts converted into political currency, the coast has been one of the great scenes of speculation, and each new case reminds us of the extent to which the conflict between public interest and private ambition has marked the transformation (and often the degradation) of the coastal landscape in Spain. A symbol that was born crooked. He mamotreto of Las Teresitas It began to raise suspicions long before it became a court case on the island of Tenerife because it appeared where it shouldn’t and how it shouldn’t, emerging without explanation in full maritime-terrestrial public domain, without visible signs and without anyone clearly knowing what was being built in front of the beach or under what legal protection. It was the persistent gaze of neighbors as Lola Schneider the one that set off the first alarms and turned that concrete skeleton into something more than an ugly work: into physical proof that a project was being carried out on the beach front that seemed to be ahead of the law and urban planning logic. Change the beach. Behind the mamotreto was the ambition to transform Las Teresitas into a large urban beach of European reference, with a plan signed by Dominique Perrault which promised to bury parking lots, create open squares and reorganize access to the sea. On paper, the visible mass was supposed to be buried and become an invisible infrastructure at the service of public space, but the partial execution and the breakdown of the balance between administrations turned that promise into an abandoned, gray and dominant structure that ended up being just the opposite of what the project claimed to pursue. The ball The construction of the parking lot was inserted in the heart of the so-called great ball from Las Teresitasoccupying easements and land in the public domain without the mandatory authorizations from Costas and with substantial modifications to the original project. Subsequent rulings made it clear that this was not a minor defect or a forgotten procedure, but rather a a global breach of the urban planning regulations, with works started without legal support while, in parallel, the City Council had purchased the beach front land for more than 52 million of euros in an operation that was already under judicial scrutiny. Justice arrives. The stoppage of works in 2007 marked the point of no return and paved the way to the investigation of the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, prompted by environmental and neighborhood complaints. The judicial process ended with sentences for urban prevarication and crimes against territorial planning, confirmed by the Court, which established unambiguously that the mamotreto was built without valid authorization and on protected land, dismantling any subsequent attempt to reduce the problem to a simple question of partial legalization. The political and criminal cost. Not only that. The sentences reached to former councilors, technicians and senior officials, some of whom have already fully served their prison and disqualification sentences, while others remain banned from holding public office until the end of the decade. The case was thus established as another branch of the great Las Teresitas scandal, with clear criminal responsibilities and an express obligation to restitute the damage caused, which included the demolition of the building at the expense of the convicted. The demolition In 2017, a horrible mass that had remained in front of the beach for years was physically put to an end. The arrival of heavy machinery to the beach and the visible start of the demolition They marked the material end of a story that had continued for more than a decade. The destruction of concrete, carried out in compliance with a final sentence and after years of delays, it symbolized the closing of a cycle in which the mamotreto went from urban promise to abandoned ruin and, finally, to rubble, returning to the landscape a beach that had been kidnapped by the failure of a “plotazo.” One more. If you like, even though the mamotreto physically disappeared and the sentences were fulfilled, its history remains as permanent warning (one more) about the limits of uncontrolled urbanism, the fragility of the public domain in the face of political and economic interests and the price that a city can pay when projects are imposed on legality. The Theresies of Tenerife recovered space and horizon, but the mamotreto was placed in that monstrous row that is part of the collective memory of the Canary Islands and Spain: that of the emblems of how one should not build a city or, of course, manage its natural heritage. Image | CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS In Xataka | Añaza’s mamotreto: the megahotel abandoned on the coast of Tenerife for 40 years that was never finished In Xataka | The Canary Islands face the irremediable dilemma of limiting tourism. Starting by charging to climb Teide

Archaeologists believed to know the history of the Maya. Until they found the tomb of the first King of Caracol

July 15, 2025 by usatoday24

Forty years are nothing. Not at least if we talk about the archaeological research of Snailan ancient and impressive Mayan city located in what is Belize today. Although the teachers Diane and Arlen Chasefrom the University of Houston (UH), they have been excavating the deposit for more than four decades had not yet found one of their Great treasures Occults: a grave of almost 1,700 years in which the remains of Te K’ab Chaak, the first ruling of Caracol and founder of a powerful dynasty that lasted for almost five centuries rest. The finding is key for what he reveals to Te K’ab Chaak, but also about his context. “They rewrite the Mayan history”, They claim From the UH. In a remote place by Belize … The Chiquibul Forest Reserve He hosts one of Belize’s most important (and impressive) Mayan deposits: the ancient city of Caracol. It is believed that at its peak came to occupy an area of almost 100 km2, with agricultural fields and careful urban planning, and welcomed 100,000 inhabitants. That without counting its geopolitical weight in the Mayan civilization and its participation in wars with neighboring towns, such as Tikal either UCANAL. One of the most fascinating constructions that has been preserved in Caracol is Caanaa majestic royal palace and ceremonies center raised around 600 or 700 AD (during the period Late classic of the Mayan civilization) and that reaches 43.5 meters high, which led its discoverers to give it the name with which we know it now: Caana, which means “place of the sky” in Maya. Ancient city, new surprises. Although the researchers have been studying the snail site for decades, they had not yet found one of their greatest treasures. At least until now. The couple of archaeologists formed by Diane and Arlen Chase, of the UH, has just discovered A surprising finding Under the canopy of an acropolis located to the right of the Palacio de Cana: a tomb of ago 1,700 years. A real grave, to be more precise. And not anyone. His dweller is You k´ab chaakwho amounted to the throne towards The 331 AD His figure is crucial in the history of Caracol for several reasons. He is considered the first ruler of the city and founded a real dynasty that would last 460 years. “We knew we had something”. A few days ago Arlen Chase He reported to The New York Times (Tnyt) The exact moment of the finding and how the archaeologists intuited that they had found something great just to take a look at the grave, the color of the cinnabar, its ceramics and the mask located on the side. “As soon as we saw the camera we knew we had something,” recalls Arlenwho still remembers what his first impression was: “My God, this is much more important than he believed.” Logical. A Te K´ab Chaak had buried him at the foot of a real family sanctuary with 11 vessels, carved bone tubes, jewelry made with jadeíta, a funeral mask made with accounts of the same material and shells of Spondylus (a genus of bivalve) of the Pacific. Among gods. “The vessels. The finding brings new clues about Te K´ab Chaak, who amounted to the throne in the year 331 of our era and whose grave is the first of three important burials dated Maya of the merchants, surrounded by offerings. Four of the vessel rulers of Caracol as part of their names “, Point out The University. Knowing Te K´ab Chaak. The finding provides information about Te K´ab Chaak, who amounted to the throne in 331 AD and whose grave is the first of three burials dated Towards 350 AD The sovereign was the first ruler of the Mayan city and set a real dynasty that would last for four and a half centuries, covering much of its history. The UH remember that the metropolis played a relevant role in Mayan history and dominated part of the southern Yucatan between 560 and 680 AD ended up abandoned around 900 DC Thanks to the remains located in the grave, the Chase have concluded that at the time of their funeral you k´ab chaak was a sovereign major, who had already lost his teeth and measured around 1.7 meters. “The early classical period is the time when the rulers claim that they supervise everything, completely away from the rest of the population. That changes at the end of the period, especially in Caracol, when after the success of the war against Tikal, they begin to share wealth with the general population. Not this person,” Comment. Does it reveal anything else? Yes. Light. And that is one of the reasons why the finding of the Chase has generated so much expectation. For a start, Remember The researchers, is the first grave of an identifiable ruler after more than 40 years of work in Caracol. It also provides valuable information to better understand its context, the connections of the Mayan world and its contact with Teotihuacánone of Mesoamerica’s greatest archaeological complexes and that in 300 AD had already become a city that marketed with all of Central America. “The Mayan monuments of carved stone, the dates, the iconography and the archaeological data suggest that the generalized Panmeso American connections occurred after an event in the 378 DC called ‘input’”, remember Diane Chase. In Caracol tombs archaeologists have found however artifacts that leads them to look at central Mexico and Teotihuacán. Problem? The burials located in Caracol date from 350 AD, “at least one generation before the recognized theotihuacan presence.” But … What does that mean? “Both central Mexico and the Mayan area knew the ritual practices of the other party, as reflected in the Caracol cremation,” Reflect Arlen Chase. The clues included in the Belize necropolis point out therefore that the first Mayan rulers maintained contacts “at the Mesoamerican level” before even the “entrance” of Teotihuacán that was recorded in their sizes. “The connections between the two regions were … Read more

In Jerusalem they have just discovered a 2,000 -year -old garden that coincides with a description of the Bible: the tomb of Jesus

April 18, 2025 by usatoday24

If we stick to the literature of that best-seller In religious code which was (and is) the Bible, the Evangelical story of the Gospel of John on the burial of Jesus had resonated with a singular symbolic force for centuries. Namely: the death of the “Messiah” occurred in a “Calaveras Place” and the funeral in “A new, fertile garden, without prior use”, almost like an echo of Eden. Ironies of life, a reform in Jerusalem has found an extremely similar place. The garden under stone. Although literaryly powerful, that passage has always lacked the same as many other passages: topographic precision. However, recent excavations in the Church of the Holy Sepulcherled by a team of archaeologists from La Sapienza University of Rome, have unearthed indications that could confer that fragment biblical an unexpected empirical support. Taking advantage of some renovations initiated in 2019 after decades of disputes between the religious communities that administer the temple (the orthodox, the Franciscans and the Armenians), the team of Professor Francesca Romana Stasolla began, in 2022, a meticulous work under the nineteenth -century panel of the sanctuary. There, under slabs and centuries of liturgy, they discovered the vestiges of An old quarry Of the Iron Age that, in Jesus, already served as a place of burials excavated in the rock. From the Empire to faith. This space, although it was not the only one of its kind in the Jerusalem of the time, was the one that the first Christians identified as the place of the crucifixion and the grave of the Nazarene, conviction that led the Emperor Constantine (after his conversion to Christianity) to order the construction of the first temple on that soil loaded with memory. The current church, rebuilt by the crusaders in the twelfth century, is the last incarnation of that ancient veneration. The revealing of the current finding is that, in the period between the exploitation of the quarry and the erection of the temple, the area was transformed into An agricultural space. The finding. Archaeologists identified low stone walls and stuffed land for cultivation, as well as evidence of olive trees and vines 2,000 years ago. For Stasolla and his team, these discoveries offer a possible material correspondence with the mention of the garden that appears in the Gospel of John, which suggests that whoever wrote, or compiled that story, possessed a intimate knowledge of the geography and territorial organization of the city at that time. Faith culture. Beyond the symbolic force of the garden and its potential link with the story of the burial of Christ, the findings also include Ceramic coins and fragments of the fourth century, which suggests continuous use of the place even before its formal Christianization. Although Stasolla herself speaks cautiously with respect to proclaiming any definitive confirmation of the place of Jesus’ burial, the researcher does underline that the true value of the discovery lies in showing how entire generations They have projected their faith On that site. The history of Holy Sepulcherhe insists, it is not only the story of a character or a religion, but an integral part of the history of Jerusalem. The continuity of the cult, the transformations of the environment and the weight of tradition have conferred that space A living identity which transcends archaeological certainties. Seen thus, between fragments of agricultural walls, millenary roots and sacred land, the recent finding not only excava in history, but also in the religious conscience of the West. Image | Gerd Eichmann In Xataka | The miracle of bread and fish is one of the great magic tricks of the Bible. Now we know “how it was done” In Xataka | The Bible and its 463 contradictions, in addition to violence and misogyny, gathered in an interactive graphic

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