Archaeologists working in Mexico City have identified what may be the largest ceremonial offering ever discovered at the Templo Mayor, the central temple of the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The conclusion comes after researchers connected three recently excavated deposits with three others uncovered decades earlier, revealing what appears to be a single large ritual event.
The discovery was presented during the Archaeology Today lecture series hosted by El Colegio Nacional. Experts from the Templo Mayor Project explained that the six offerings were likely placed around the temple during the reign of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, who ruled the Aztec Empire in the mid-15th century.
Leonardo López Luján, director of the project at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, said the findings mark the first time archaeologists have identified ritual deposits forming a complete circle around the great temple. According to researchers, the layout suggests a carefully planned ceremony of major political and religious importance.
The conclusion emerged after specialists compared artifacts found in recent excavations with objects recovered in earlier digs from different areas of the monument.
Six deposits reveal evidence of a single ritual event
The research began with the study of Offerings 186, 187, and 189, discovered in 2023 near the sacred complex. Inside the deposits, archaeologists found 43 greenstone figurines made in the Mezcala artistic style, a tradition associated with regions of present-day Guerrero in southern Mexico.
When specialists reviewed earlier excavation records, they noticed striking similarities between the new finds and three older deposits — Offerings 18, 19, and 97 — unearthed in 1978 and 1991.
Field archaeologists Alejandra Aguirre Molina and Antonio Marin Calvo determined that all six deposits date to Stage IVa of the Templo Mayor’s construction. This phase of the temple, which lasted from about 1440 to 1469, corresponds to the rule of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina. Matching dates, materials, and spatial placement strongly suggest that the deposits were placed during the same ceremonial event rather than separate rituals.
Researchers also noted that Stage IVa is unusually well preserved compared with other construction phases of the temple. Portions of the surrounding platform still display carved serpent heads and ceremonial braziers positioned along the structure’s sides.
Artifacts and materials show the scale of the ceremony
The combined offering contains a remarkable collection of ritual objects. In total, archaeologists identified 83 human-shaped greenstone figurines, along with several massive stone sculptures weighing between 600 and 1,000 kilograms (1,323 to 2,205 pounds). Specialists believe the heavy pieces were likely transported using ropes, wooden rollers, and simple levers.
Lopez Lujan said the concentration of Mezcala-style artifacts is unique within the Templo Mayor. Researchers believe many of the objects were war trophies brought from regions such as Tlaxco and Tlaxmalac in what is now northern Guerrero.
Conservators carefully stabilized the finds after excavation. Project conservator Adriana Sanroman Peyron explained that the stone containers were stored under controlled humidity for several months. Specialists then cleaned the sculptures and preserved traces of red and white pigments that the Mexica people used to adapt the figures with features linked to the rain god Tlaloc.
Biologist Belem Zuñiga Arellano also reported the recovery of more than 4,000 shell remains, many belonging to species from the Atlantic Ocean. Some shells still retained organic layers, suggesting they were transported alive in saltwater to the Aztec capital.
Researchers said the materials from the offering will remain at the Templo Mayor Museum, where they will continue to be studied and may eventually be displayed in a future exhibition.