FINDING LOST CIVILIZATIONS This

One month after I had seen the treasure of El Condethe following story appeared in the Mexican newspaper,El Universal.Ancient tombs found in NayaritEl UniversalJueves 15 de marzo de 2007Mexican archaeologists found more than 100 bodiesin 29 different pre-Hispanic tombs dating back about2,000 years in Nayarit.Raúl Barrera, who leads the archaeological projectfor the National Institute of Anthropology and History, orINAH, said most of the remains belonged to women betweenthe ages of 35 and 40.Archaeologists have not yet been able to determinewhich civilization the remains are from, although they knowthe find dates back to the period 200 B.C. to A.D. 600.The tombs—located in vertical chambers—were ina type of burial ground found in Nayarit, Colima, Michoacán,Zacatecas and parts of Jalisco, but they have notbeen found in Mesoamerica.The tombs have, however, been found in Colombia,Ecuador and Venezuela, Barrera said, noting thatthere may have been cultural and trade links between theregions.Artifacts from these countries have been discoveredon the coast of Nayarit, he said.This type of tomb may have signified some type ofa “return to the womb of Mother Earth,” the archaeologistsaid.The content of the tombs varied depending on thesocial status of the individual, since “they held the beliefthat in making the crossing to the next life the dead personneeded certain items for the journey,” Barrera said.Archaeologists found figurines of warriors, ball players,pregnant women and animals in the tombs, as well asvessels and various types of jewelry.Barrera said the sites contained only burial groundsand no dwellings, which may have been located on mountainsor other locations at higher altitudes.Of the 29 tombs, 28 were found at the La Playasite and the other was at Las Lagunillas. Only 12 were still75