Carved Stone Crocodile Discovered at Ancient Site in Oaxaca

Posted on September 3, 2016

Archaeologists from the Field Museum in Chicago have discovered a carved stone crocodile at an ancient site in Oaxaca, Mexico. The crocodile was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Lambityeco (AD 500-850), which was first uncovered in the 1960s.

The crocodile stone is carved on three sides. It is the largest carved stone found to date at Lambityeco. The archaeologists believe the carved stone was moved from its original location during the long-ago occupation of Lambityeco.

Linda Nicholas, an archaeologist at The Field Museum, says in a statement, "We believe that this crocodile stone was originally a part of a stairway leading up to a temple at the heart of the civic-ceremonial center of Lambityeco. However, when the people reconstructed the core area of the site, the entrance to the temple was blocked and the stairway was dismantled."

You can find out more about the crocodile stone here on fieldmuseum.org. A Wikipedia entry on the Lambityeco archaeological site can be found here.


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