Idol depicting deity of death — dating back 1,800 years — found in remote Mexican town

An ancient idol depicting a deity of death was recently unearthed in a remote part of Mexico, officials said.

The 10-inch limestone statuette was discovered near Balamku, an archaeological site in the southeastern state of Campeche, according to a June 19 government news release.

Dating back between 1,400 and 1,800 years, the idol was created by the Mayans, a pre-Columbian civilization in Central America.

The sculpture portrays a seated individual wearing a nose ring and covered in blotches of red pigment, officials said.

These features link the sculpture to a deity of death and funerary rituals.

Cizin, which translates to “stinking one,” was the Mayan god of death, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. The god was also associated with earthquakes, war and human sacrifice.

The idol is also characterized by an elongated skull, a sign of cranial modification.

Head-shaping, which involved wearing constricting devices, was popular among ancient Mayans, according to the book “The Bioarchaeology of Artificial Cranial Modifications.”

A pointed head might have been a class signifier, distinguishing members of the aristocracy from commoners, author and bioarchaeologist Vera Tiesler writes.

The Mayan Civilization collapsed around 1500 AD because of a number of factors, including climate change and political instability, according to a 2013 study published in the journal Diálogo Andino.

The idol was unearthed during excavations for a railway project that aims to transport tourists to Mexico’s archaeological sites in the Yucatan Peninsula, officials said.

Google Translate was used to translate a news release from the Mexican government.

This story was originally published June 22, 2023 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Idol depicting deity of death — dating back 1,800 years — found in remote Mexican town."