The identity of a skeleton found in a 'fetal position' under a palace has been revealed

RESEARCHERS believe they have discovered the real identity of a skeleton discovered in Mexico years ago.

In 1971, archaeologists excavated a cemetery beneath Hernán Cortés' palace in Mexico.

A skeleton in a fetal position was discovered at the site and researchers believed to be a monk.

Juan Leyva, the monk, is said to have served the Marquise Juana de Zúñiga y Arellano, wife of Cortés.

But now a new analysis shows that the bones belonged to a middle-aged indigenous woman.

A team of historians came to this conclusion after finding a 16th-century Franciscan codex at the site.

The codex tells the story of how Leyva slept with his head in a niche in the wall.

It also stated that the monk was eventually buried next to the gate of the old house.

This new insight suggests that a skeleton with a twisted neck at the entrance to the palace could instead be Leyva, a researcher said. rack by the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

“A recent study of the skeleton, which lies beneath the enclosure, reveals that it actually corresponds to a Tlahuica woman, an Aztec tribe that founded its dominion and tecpan on Cuauhnáhuac Hill,” reads an English translation of the statement.

Researchers were tempted to take a look at the cemetery — which has served as a museum for the past 50 years — after a 2017 earthquake.

The new analysis was presented in a published publication report by INAH anthropologists Pablo Neptalí Monterroso Rivas and Isabel Bertha Garza Gómez.

The team revealed that both the skull and pelvis indicate the person was female.

It is also believed that she was between 30 and 40 years old when she died, Monterroso Rivas and Garza Gómez said in the report.

The fetus-like burial position of the skeleton and the flattening of the skull indicate an indigenous origin.

Anthropologists believe that the Tlahuica woman was buried just before the time Cuauhnáhuac fell prey to the Spanish invasion.

In an email to Living ScienceMonterroso Rivas said that, instead of a traditional cemetery-style burial, “it would be more relevant to think of a series of ritual events, perhaps of sacrifice, with the Tlahuica woman taking place last.”