Mystery Pyramid Built by Newfound Ancient Culture?

Several stone sculptures recently found in central Mexico point to a previously unknown culture that likely built a mysterious pyramid in the region, archaeologists say.

Archaeologists first found the objects about 15 years ago in the valley of Tulancingo, a major canyon that drops off into Mexico's Gulf Coast.

Most of the 41 artifacts "do not fit into any of the known cultures of the Valley of Tulancingo, or the highlands of central Mexico," said Carlos Hernández, an archaeologist at Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History in the central state of Hidalgo.

Many of the figures are depicted in a sitting position, with their hands placed on their knees.

Some have headdresses or conical hats with snakes at the base, which could represent Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl, the Aztec god of the wind. One figure shows a man emerging from the jaws of a jaguar.

The sculptures are also made of flat stucco—a combination of fine sand, lime, and water—and painted blue or green to the give the appearance of jade.

All of the artifacts date to the Epiclassic period between A.D. 600 to 900.

Some Mexican and foreign archaeologists have said the sculptures weren't ancient and thus false, Hernández said.

"But by linking all the characteristics that make them different, [such as their location in Tulancingo and time period], allows us to say that they should be considered as a product of a different culture [called Huajomulco]."

The culture is named after an area in Hidalgo.

Baffling Pyramid

Some of the artifacts were also found near the mysterious Huapalcalco pyramid in Hidalgo, whose origin has been a source of debate among archaeologists.

The pyramid's proportions, along with smaller structures that were painted black and white, do not correspond to the Toltec or Teotihuacan cultures of the same area and time period.

Source: National Geographic

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[edit on 9/12/08 by Jbird]

It's a sexy headline but if I read the article correctly the pyramid and culture seem most likely to be an offshoot of The Teotihuacan people. Maybe a group of survivors who were isolated from the Toltecs.

Which is fascinating within itself..but I have to admit when they use headlines like that I start imagining any "new" ancient culture found must automatically be at least 5000 yrs old or older.

I guess shame on my for applying my own time span to the word "ancient"

Good article just shows there still a lot for us to find out in the open, above water!

reply to post by atlantiswatusi

Yeah the title is a little "sexy", lol

The pyramid isnt all that mysterious and its not really a question about a "new culture" either.

I don't really trust the mainstream "experts" and their dating techniques.

It's funny how this pyramid looks like the one in Java that I posted the other day:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I think what your going to find is most cultures took over existing and abandoned sites. What most feel is related to one culture may only have the most recent layer of the culture that last existed in the same spot. Future scanning technology will confirm that older pyramids are indeed encased within the ones we have found and we see only the top layers of many of the cultures that take them over.

Common sense says if an old pyramid is there already to add another layer and make it your own. Less labor and materials in an eco friendly recycling manner.

reply to post by warrenb


It is difficult for them to actually date the buildings. They usually get their dates from carbon dating the fires and bones from meals. That does not always mean the buildings were built at that time, and they never mention that.
I also agree that the pyramids could be much older than the dates mentioned. Those peoples did not have the wheel. How did they move the stones without a wheel system? The answer from many will be logs, but the truth is not really known, unless we can go back in time and find out how old and who actually built the monuments.

Howdy Warrenb

Yes that is very interesting. However it wouldn't be considered 'ancient', as noted it would be considered the classical or pre-classical period, or as radical American states, Epiclassical.

I suspect it will turn out to either be a subsidiary culture of a known one or perhaps a 'last remnant' of one we thought had earlier disappeared. It might even be a completely unknown one and as noted in the quote below that wouldn't be unexpected.

As the article states on page two

Creative Era

Michael Smith, an archaeologist at Arizona State University, agreed.

"The notion that there would be an independent culture in [the Epiclassic] period is not surprising at all," he said.

"It was a very creative period, with rich development."

Future excavations of Huapalcalco should solidify the link to a new pre-hispanic culture, and help archaeologists glean clues about this lost time, Hernández said.

"The [Epiclassic] period is considered a time of dynamic development—new trade, cities, and development," said Arizona State's Smith, "but one we don't know much about."

Kidflash

Its always challenging to date buildings but there are ways. Usually in Mexico you date by pottery, stylistic, C-14 or strat or best yet an inscription. You would need to find the papers on this find to determine their dating regime.

AATS: cultures only rarely take over other structures-and pronounce them theirs- they usually identify them as being from the others and consider them unlucky. Note that megalithic monuments were not usually reused, the Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines and Arabs didn't take over and say the Pyramids were built by them. In most cases the captured area was destroyed and rebuilt over or the building modified (as the Arabs and Christians did to various churches/mosques) but its existence as a captured object was clearly defined.

The forest is so dense there that they are going to continue to find new pyramids or shrines. One thing that might add to the whole subject is that it is believed that after the major "cities" in Mexico and South America, the population went and formed other city-states. It is interesting that the artifacts are so differant, but it's not too suprising if the theory about the smaller city-states is correct.

The preists weilded all the power and told no one but other preists about it or it's inner workings. This cold cause new beliefs to litterally appear overnight if the population left this city to go to this newly formed city-state...

All the beliefs at the time were of sacrificial nature... That might add to the reason for the average Jo to leave the developed, large citys and go to the forest and form tribes, which in turn would become a city-state... And so on.

reply to post by Jkd Up


This pyramid appears to not be located in the jungle area, but in the drier area nearer the coast, unfortunately during my times in Mexico I didn't go thru this area: Two different photos of the pyramid, 12 x 8 meters