2,700-year-old tomb found in Mexico

MEXICO CITY - A 2,700-year-old multiple burial tomb, believed to be the precedent of pyramids in the Central American region, was found in Mexico Tuesday.

The tomb, dating from the Middle Pre-classic period, between 700 and 500 B.C., was found in the archaeological zone of Chiapa de Corzo, in Chiapas state, Prensa Latina reported, quoting archaeologists Bruce Bachand, Emiliano Gallaga and Lynneth Lowe.

The date of the tomb will, however, have to be confirmed through Carbon-14 and DNA tests. This will ultimately shed light on the development of pre-Hispanic cultures like the Olmec and the Mayan, the archaeologists said.

Among the remains found inside the tomb was a “high-ranking” man, wearing fine clothes, a one-year-old child, and a young adult, both of whom were probably placed there as companions after being sacrificed.

The archaeologists found another tomb next to the main chamber, where bones of a woman were found, lying alongside a trousseau made of jade and pearls and bird and monkey-shaped earrings.