Hidden chamber reveals secrets of the Tlacotepehaus civilisation
A cartographic expedition in the Tlayócoc cave in Mexico led a professional cave explorer to a hidden chamber containing shocking evidence of an extinct civilisation.
Evidence of a mysterious civilisation from over 500 years ago was discovered in the Mexican Tlayócoc cave. The traces of this community were found by professional cave researcher Yekaterina Katiya Pavlova and local guide Adrián Beltrán Dimas.
Yekaterina Katiya Pavlova travelled to the communities inhabiting Sierra de Guerrero to map the Tlayócoc caves. During the expedition, she encountered unique items that turned out to be evidence of people who lived in these areas hundreds of years ago.
Exploring the caves, they discovered traces of a community from hundreds of years ago
After mapping the entire cave, Pavlova and Dimas decided to pass through a flooded passage to an unknown chamber. In the room they reached, they found bracelets made of shells. According to a statement from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the objects were placed on stalagmites, probably for ritual purposes. The explorers also encountered another bracelet, a huge snail shell, and fragments of black stone discs resembling pyrite mirrors. All these items are over 500 years old.
In total, fourteen items were discovered: three shell bracelets, a large snail shell, jewellery fragments, a piece of burnt wood, and elements of eight stone discs. Archaeologists found symbols on the items, mainly anthropomorphic figures. The bracelets contain S-shaped symbols known as xonecuilli and zigzag lines. Scientists suspect that the objects were used in religious ceremonies, and these patterns represent specific deities.
The objects belonged to the mysterious Tlacotepehaus people
According to the Popular Mechanics portal, scientists suspect that the items found in the cave were placed there by people living in the post-classical period, between 950 and 1521 AD. During this time, the area was inhabited by the Tlacotepehaus ethnic group.
"This finding is of great relevance, since, with the study of the contextual relationship of the pieces of the cave, we can interpret symbolic notions, cultural aspects, manufacturing, and even trade," said Miguel Perez, INAH archaeologist, in a statement. It allows the scholars "to characterize the pre-Hispanic societies settled in the Sierra de Guerrero."
Archaeologists studying the finds determined that the rock formations were processed to give them a rounded shape. This was likely done to make the stalagmites suitable for rituals by the area's inhabitants at that time.
"Possibly the symbols and representations of characters on the bracelets are related to pre-Hispanic cosmogony regarding creation and fertility," stated Cuauhtemoc Reyes Alvarez, an INAH archaeologist. He added that the enclosed context allows experts to understand how ancient inhabitants might have perceived these caves—as portals to the underworld or as sacred spaces connected to the Earth and divinity.
Historical sources indicate that Sierra de Guerrero was abandoned by people due to extremely low temperatures. The place is situated 2,390 metres above sea level, which contributes to the presence of harsh weather conditions. Historians do not know much about the people who inhabited these areas, and our knowledge of the Tlacotepehaus comes only from sixteenth-century mentions.
