Mexican farmers have discovered a near seven-foot-tall ancient sculpture of a noblewoman that has fascinated experts.
Farmers digging a citrus orchard in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz discovered the well-preserved two metre (6.6 foot) tall sculpture on 1st January.
Experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) revealed on 8th January that the statue may represent a ruler, aristocrat, or even a goddess.
It is believed to be the first statue of its kind along the Tuxpan River basin in the region of Huasteca in the northern part of the state, and experts have dated it to between 1450 and 1521 AD.
Although the piece was found near the ruins of El Tajin, the major centre of Classic Veracruz culture, the statue shows some Aztec influence, according to the INAH.
The area in which the limestone sculpture was discovered is not considered an archaeological site, and it is believed the statue may have been moved there from another unknown location.
INAH archaeologist Maria Eugenia Maldonado Vite said the wide-eyed, open-mouthed statue represents a young woman who was “possibly a ruler due to her posture and attire rather than a deity”.
The figure could be “a late fusion of the Teem goddesses with representations of women of high social or political status in Huasteca,” said Maldonado Vite, referring to the ancient Mexican goddesses that formed part of a fertility cult.
Culture secretary Alejandra Frausto said the statue “confirms the active participation of women rulers in the Huastec civilisation’s social and political structure”.
The statue of the prehispanic woman 
The statue of the prehispanic woman
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