Archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have documented 179 pre-Hispanic artefacts inside a previously unknown cave in the municipality of Cintalapa, Chiapas.
The discovery was made in Mundo Zoque (“Zoque World”), a cave located near the Arco del Tiempo, one of the world’s largest natural rock arches in the La Venta River canyon. The site contains 13 ritual deposits dating to the Late Classic period (AD 600–900), making it one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in Chiapas in recent decades.
The cave was first identified in January 2026 by local guide Jairo Díaz Barreiro, who reported the find to INAH. Archaeologists carried out a series of investigations between February and June as part of a wider project to document caves in the La Venta River canyon.
Measuring more than 100 metres in length, the cave remained undisturbed for centuries due to its difficult access, which requires a descent of more than 10 metres by rope before navigating narrow passages and a seasonal water-filled siphon.
Inside, archaeologists identified 13 ceremonial deposits containing ceramic artefacts, including incense burners, effigy urns and bowls. Many of the vessels are decorated with images of jaguars, owls and snakes—animals associated with the underworld and the night in Zoque cosmology.
One of the most notable features of the cave is a series of incense burners decorated with representations of ceiba tree thorns. Researchers believe these objects marked a ceremonial route leading through the cave into large chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites, features that may have symbolised the Zoque underworld, known as ts’uan.
Beyond the cave’s flooded siphon, archaeologists found concentrations of bowls placed alongside stalagmites that had been deliberately modified into anthropomorphic forms. Another chamber contained vessels with effigy handles depicting human figures.
The largest chamber contained five ritual deposits with finely crafted orange pottery. Among the most significant discoveries is a censer decorated with a quincunx motif representing the four cardinal directions, topped by a 32-centimetre handle in the form of an open-mouthed serpent.
Based on the ceramic styles and iconography, the assemblage has been provisionally dated to the regional Late Classic period. Researchers believe the cave functioned as a ceremonial sanctuary used for rituals associated with rainfall, fertility and agricultural cycles, rather than as a habitation site.
Future work will include detailed three-dimensional photogrammetric recording of the cave and laboratory analysis of residues preserved inside the ceramic vessels. Such investigations might find copal incense, ash or other organic remains that could contribute to Zoque ritual practices.
According to INAH, this discovery is significant to the understanding of the ancient Zoque civilisation and highlights that the cave systems in the La Venta River canyon are very much in the archaeological repertoire.
Header Image Credit : Josuhé Lozada
Sources : INAH
