Archaeologists have found remains of 2,000-year-old flowers that were burned by the people of Teotihuacan under a pyramid in the ancient city. The monument is about 23 meters high, making it larger than Egypt's Sphinx of Giza.

The pyramid in question is part of the "Temple of the Feathered Serpent," erected to pay homage to Quetzalcoatl, a god the ancients worshipped in Mesoamerica. Archeologists found the branches 18 meters below ground, in the deepest part of one of the tunnels that cut through the construction. Sergio Gómez-Chávez, of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, leader of the dig, provided the data.

Image: Divulgation/ Guardian Magazine

Above all, the 2,000-year-old flowers were part of rituals associated with fertility, where the indigenous people occupied the tunnels. Now, Sérgio's team intends to analyze the material to identify the flowers, which would open the way to new discoveries about these ancient customs. In fact, the professionals found several bouquets, made up of an average of 40 to 60 flowers.

What can 2,000-year-old flowers reveal about the past?

Gómez-Cháves reveals that archaeologists have also come across evidence of a large bonfire, as there are pieces of burnt wood in the territory, where the people of ancient times placed them on the branches before setting fire.

The tunnel where the team found the 2,000-year-old flowers was revealed to the world in 2003, and since then, researchers have located several artifacts, including animal remains, sculptures, cocoa beans, and other elements that help understand how the region functioned in that period, but this mission is not as easy as it seems.

Pyramids of Teotihuacan. Image: Divulgação/ Expedia

Now, the main focus of the analysis is to find out how the society of the time was able to create the tunnels. The territory of Teotihuacan has several pyramids and flourished probably between 100 BC and 600 AD. Its population may have reached 100,000 people, occupying an area of 20 square kilometers of urban core. In other words, it was the largest city in America and the sixth largest in the world!

When the Aztecs arrived at the site, especially, they were sure that the city belonged to the constructions of gods or giants. Teotihuacan even means 'place where men become gods', and the 2,000-year-old flowers only prove that hundreds of rituals took place on that ground.

However, researchers cannot pinpoint, with exactitude, who built not only the city itself, but also, the pyramids that surround the territory - Teotihuacan is a great archaeological mystery.

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With information from Live Science.