1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb discovered in southern Mexico

A 1,400-year-old, well-preserved Zapotec tomb has been unearthed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the quality of the tomb’s decoration, excellent preservation and the new information it provides about Zapotec rituals, social hierarchy and ancestor worship make the tomb “the most important archaeological discovery in Mexico in the past decade.”

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) discovered the tomb in the city of San Pablo Huizo in central Oaxaca state following anonymous complaints about looting that occurred in 2025. It contains reliefs, paintings and murals depicting symbols of death and power in Zapotec culture.

There is a huge owl relief at the entrance to the tomb, symbolizing night, power and death. The hooked mandible of its beak curves downward, covering a red stucco face of a Zapotec lord with bared teeth and a ferocious expression. Archaeologists believe the face may have belonged to one of the ancestors enshrined in the tomb. There are two large door frames on either side of the entrance, each carved with a female and male figure wearing a headdress and holding artifacts in both hands. They may have been guardians of the tomb.

There is an antechamber inside the tomb and a door leading to the tomb chamber. The frieze above the lintel is made of different stones and is engraved with calendar names. There is also a pair of huge door frames on both sides of the doorway under the lintel, with exquisitely carved guardian figures. The walls of the tomb are covered with a colorful mural showing a procession of people carrying bags of copal, a resin used as incense, toward the entrance. It is painted with ocher, white, green, red and blue pigments.

An interdisciplinary team from the National Institute of Health in Oaxaca is currently working to preserve and study the site. One of the most pressing challenges is stabilizing the mural, which is threatened by tree roots, insects and sudden changes in temperature and humidity.

Meanwhile, researchers are conducting ceramic, iconographic and inscriptional analysis, as well as physical anthropological studies of human remains. These investigations aim to deepen understanding of the rituals, symbols, and burial practices associated with this elite Zapotec tomb.