Archaeologists Find Lid of Ancient Vault With Snake Symbol at Maya Palace [View all]

BY ARISTOS GEORGIOU ON 9/15/23 AT 3:11 PM EDT

Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered an ancient Mayan artifact featuring a depiction of a serpent.

The stone block was used by the Maya as the cover of a vault, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said. Researchers found the stone artifact in the Acropolis, or royal palace, of Ek' Balam, an ancient Mayan city in the municipality of Temozón, Yucatán state.

The site was inhabited for more than a thousand years, thriving during the Late Classic period (A.D. 600 to 900), which marked the high point of Mayan culture.

The Mayan civilization dominated what is now southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and the western areas of El Salvador and Honduras for more than 3,000 years until the era of Spanish colonization.

The ancient Maya were notable for creating the only fully developed writing system in pre-Columbian America, their striking architecture and art, and their advanced calendar, mathematics and astronomical system.

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https://www.newsweek.com/archaeologists-find-lid-ancient-vault-snake-symbol-maya-palace-1827482