Submitted by coldrum ---
Archaeologists found some of the richest and most unusual Aztec offerings ever in excavations under a mammoth slab depicting an earth goddess and said Wednesday they hope to uncover an emperor's tomb nearby. The seven offerings of strange and unparalleled oddities found under the stone slab depicting the goddess Tlaltecuhtli include the skeleton of a dog or wolf dressed in turquoise ear plugs, jadeite necklaces and golden bells on its feet.
On Wednesday, the huge stone monument was put on display for reporters before its first public exhibition. The sculpture itself challenges the public perception of Aztec monuments as bare stone-colored carvings, because it preserves a half-dozen original colors in which it was originally painted, including rich ochre, red, yellow and blue hues.
Historical records from the time of Spain's 1521 conquest and markings on the Tlaltecuhtli slab suggest the Aztec emperor Ahuizotl, who died in 1502, was cremated and his ashes buried somewhere at the foot of the Templo Mayor pyramid.
Researchers originally thought the tomb might lie directly below the slab. But with only about 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) left to dig downward in 12.5-meter (41-foot) deep pits excavated since 2007, Lujan said researchers plan to dig a lateral tunnel 5 meters (16.4 feet) to the west, to see if they can find the cremated remains of Ahuizotl or his predecessors.
They would like to go farther with lateral excavations, but the water-soaked, unstable soil - and the possibility of damaging valuable, colonial-era buildings that still stand around the site - make that impossible. Radar and other images suggest soil disturbances near the current pit, but Archaeologist Leonardo Lopez Lujan said those could be naturally caused.
Archaeologists have been looking for the tombs of the Aztec emperors for decades. Unlike the sepulcher of Mayan leaders, no Aztec royal burial site has ever been found.
Tlaltecuhtli was believed to devour the dead and then give them new life. The god was so fearsome that Aztecs normally buried her depictions face down in the earth. However, this one was face-up. In the claw of her right foot, the god holds a rabbit and 10 dots, indicating the date "10 Rabbit" - 1502, the year of Ahuizotl's death.
"What better monument for a funerary area ... than a goddess who devours the dead," Lopez Lujan said.
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