A clay urn and a rock mask, as well as a book dating from 1715, arrived in Mexico from New York, USA, reported the Ministry of Culture.
In a statement, the agency explained that the two archaeological pieces and the historical document they were handed over voluntarily by individuals to the Mexican Consulate in that entity.
In this regard, the General Coordinator of Social Communication of the Presidency, Jesus Ramirez Cuevas, explained that it was a collector who returned the two pieces to the country and stressed that “surprising actions always occur because they reaffirm hope in mankind.”
A collector returned two pre-Hispanic pieces to a Mexican consulate in the US. When the conscience of the people is appealed to, surprising actions always take place because they reaffirm hope in the human race. https://t.co/rClpi6deJp
– Jesus Ramírez Cuevas (@JesusRCuevas) February 5, 2022
The pieces were analyzed by specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), who determined, based on their morphological and stylistic characteristics, that they are objects owned by the Mexican nation and that, therefore, they are protected by the Federal Law on Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Monuments and Zones.
The first is a cylindrical urn with a lid, made of clay using modeling, smoothing and pastillage application techniques. It has a rough finish and its exterior features the decoration of a human face.
Although, detailed the INAH, the lid is fragmented into two parts, the piece is complete and in good condition and they specified that it was made in the Guerrero area, during the period Mesoamerican Postclassic (1200–1521 d.C.).
The second piece is a mask made of rock, using percussion carving, fluting, carving and abrasion wear techniques.
Represents the face of a character grim expression, without hair and with his mouth open showing his teeth. It presents perforations in the earlobes and in the area of the cheeks.
The mask is complete and in good condition, it is a olmec style archaeological object, made on the Gulf Coast of Mexico during the Mesoamerican Preclassic period (1200–400 BC).
About the book called In the name of God…, experts determined that this document constitutes a historical monument.
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