Archaeologists Discovered the Ancient Temple of a Serpent Cult In Mexico

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient circular structure in Mexico that may have been a place of worship for a Maya cult 1,000 years ago. The captivating two-floor building was excavated at a rich archeological site called El Tigre in the state of Campeche in southeast Mexico, and reveals valuable information about the society that once thrived here. 

Diego Prieto Hernández, the general director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), announced the discovery on Monday during a press conference held by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“This building broadens our knowledge of the late occupation of El Tigre,” Prieto Hernández said according to Mexico News Daily, noting that it is a find of “great importance.”

“Circular structures generally correspond to the early Postclassic period between 1000 and 1200 CE, when the Maya zone had links with other regions of Mesoamerica, in particular with central Mexico, Oaxaca and the Gulf Coast,” he added.

El Tigre is already a well-established site that was first settled by Indigenous peoples more than 2,000 years ago. Over the centuries, it evolved into a bustling regional capital for the Chontal Maya civilization, who adorned the area with complex architecture, such as pyramids and temples, that are similar to other Maya sites in the Yucatan Peninsula, such as Chichén Itzá. 

Archaeologists believe the El Tigre site corresponds to an ancient Maya settlement called Itzamkanac, which was devoted to the serpent god Kukulcán. The circular structure probably supported a temple to this deity, who was the regional equivalent of the wind god Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl, according to an INAH statement posted on Monday.

“The importance of the architectural structure of El Tigre lies precisely in its temporality, which corresponds to the early Postclassic period (1000-1200 CE), when the former river port maintained intense ties with other regions of Mesoamerica. such as central Mexico, Oaxaca and the Gulf Coast, where the cult of Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl could have come from,”  the statement said.

Archaeologists have been excavating El Tigre for decades, but their work recently got a boost from a project called the Archaeological Zone Improvement Program (Promeza). Promeza seeks to assess and preserve the archaeological heritage of Mexico in anticipation of the completion of a Mayan Train, which will bring many more tourists along its 950-mile route through the Yucatan Peninsula.