Mexico is an inexhaustible source of pre-Hispanic treasures. Almost every week we continue to discover traces of the past, and this is something that is booming with the Mayan Train project and the latest technological tools. Thanks to the latter, we have managed to find hidden pyramids, underground spaces, and this is something that can give impetus to the study of ancient structures.

But there are still pieces that are very valuable, even though we discovered them a few years ago. An example of this is the treasure from Monte Alban Tomb 7, which some continue to consider “the richest treasure in America”. Not only are there hundreds of pieces, but they are also in a truly enviable state of preservation.

Mixtec treasure of Tomb 7

In January 1932, Dr. Alfonso Caso discovered one of the greatest pre-Hispanic treasures in history in the archaeological site of tomb number 7 of Monte Albán. At the time of its discovery, a first restoration was carried out, but both in 1944 and a few years before, maintenance work was carried out, with the aim of not only examining the pieces but also restoring what was necessary and implementing a suitable conservation process.

In total, it is a set of more than 230 pieces made in pre-Hispanic sacred materials such as gold, silver, rock crystal and precious stones such as turquoise, obsidian and greenstone. The state of preservation of many of these objects is impressive. There are also less remarkable objects, such as those made of bone or alabaster vessels.

So… where do these luxury objects come from? The INAH researchers provided context for the pieces, stating that their origins lie in the union of a man from the Zaachila dynasty and a Mixtec woman, sometime between 1,200 and 1,400 AD.

Skull decorated with mosaics of turquoise and shells

rock crystal glass

Carved bone with turquoise inlay

The National Institute of Anthropology and History specifically comment that this is “a union between Mr. 5 Flor of the Zaachila dynasty and Mrs. 4 Rabbit ‘Quetzal’, princess of the Mixtec kingdom of Teoxacualco. The princess would have used Tomb 7 as a shelter.” tnanipackaging in which ancestral relics such as extremely valuable statues and other luxury objects were kept.

And judging by the photos in the articles, the princess’s treasure was not small. Now that these items have been found, they don’t look as good as they do in the photos that accompany these lines. According to INAH, a meticulous restoration process was necessary so that we can admire the detail of each piece.

Mask representing the god Xipe Tótec made of melted and soldered gold

A pot with supports made of alabaster

Bezote representing a pheasant’s head in jade. The back cover is made of gold foil

This includes the recovery of color characteristics, the polished surface of some objects and the reflective power of others. In any case, the work was worth it, because the collection has an impressive presence and, beyond the photographs that INAH shares on its website (where we can see the description of each object), you can see them in person in room III of the Oaxaca Cultural Museum.

And in addition to admiring the metalwork of each piece, it’s also interesting to note that this treasure is important because it not only shows how certain materials were processed and what was valued, but also that some of them were obtained through barter and exchange, as well as trade networks between different Mesoamerican regions.

This is something that we are slowly beginning to recognize and that is extremely important in telling us about the cultural richness of certain places. A recent example is the study of the canals in Mexico City, which has become a truly impressive cultural center thanks to these commercial activities.

Pictures | INAH

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