The announcement came this week from Guatemala’s Culture and Sports Ministry. Tikal, a powerful Mayan city-state known for its towering jungle temples, had long battled with the Kaanul dynasty for control of the region, says CBS News. But this new find shows Tikal also had cultural ties with Teotihuacan, a massive city from central Mexico located outside today’s Mexico City.
Teotihuacan, also known as "the city of the gods," was one of the biggest cities in the world between 100 BC and AD 750. It covered around 8 square miles and supported more than 100,000 residents before being abandoned centuries before the rise of the Aztecs.
"The remains of three children not older than 4 years were found on three sides of the altar," Paiz told The Associated Press.
"The Teotihuacan were traders who traveled all over the country (Guatemala)," Paiz said. "The Teotihuacan residential complexes were houses with rooms and in the center altars; that's what the residence that was found is like, with an altar with the figure representing the Storm Goddess."
Researchers shared video footage of the altar’s interior and aerial views on social media.
"It's something unique in Guatemala, nothing similar had been found," Paiz said in a statement.
It took over a year and a half to uncover and study the structure before going public with the results. Edwin Román, head of the South Tikal Archaeological Project, said the altar points to a strong connection between the Maya elite and Teotihuacan between 300 and 500 A.D.
He said it supports the idea that Tikal was a diverse city, welcoming people from many regions and cultures. María Belén Méndez, an archaeologist not involved in the project, said the altar shows how the two cultures were linked spiritually. "That there has been an interconnection between both cultures and what their relationships with their gods and celestial bodies was like."
"We see how the issue of sacrifice exists in both cultures. It was a practice; it's not that they were violent, it was their way of connecting with the celestial bodies," she said.
The altar is around one yard tall, a yard wide from east to west, and two yards from north to south. It’s made of limestone. The dwelling also contained human-like figures with red tassels, a known element of Teotihuacan design.
The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.
This discovery follows the 2023 announcement of a hidden Mayan city uncovered in the Mexican jungle by a student who had unknowingly passed the site years before. The new altar find will not be opened to the public, though the site is under protection.
Tikal, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, peaked between 200 and 900 AD, during the height of Mayan civilization. Teotihuacan reached its height earlier, between 100 and 600 AD, and is famous for the massive pyramids of the sun and moon.
