Tepexpan Man | |
|---|---|
 Tepexpan 1. Replica. | |
| Born | c. 8,040 B.C |
| Died | c. 8,000 B.C (aged c. 40) now Mexico |
| Body discovered | February 1947 by Helmut Terra |
The Tepexpan Man is a Pre-Columbian-era skeleton, discovered by archaeologist Helmut de Terra in February 1947, on the shores of the former Lake Texcoco in central Mexico.[1] The skeleton was found near mammoth remains and thought to be at least 10,000 years old.[2] It was fancifully hailed by Time magazine as the oldest Mexican.[1] The skeleton was found lying face down with the arms under the chest and the legs drawn up to the stomach.[3] The body most likely sank into the mud surrounding it, leaving the shoulder, back, and hips exposed, which might explain why those elements are missing.[3] It is possible that the body was originally deposited in the lake.[4]
- ^ a b "Science: American Face". Time. 20 October 1947. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
- ^ "Isotope analysis dates ancient Mexican". Planet Earth online. 14 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
- ^ a b Terra, Helmut de (1947-07-01). "Preliminary Note on the Discovery of Fossil Man at Tepexpan in the Valley of Mexico". American Antiquity. 13 (1): 40–44. doi:10.2307/275752. JSTOR 275752. S2CID 163184882.
- ^ Krieger, Alex D.. 1949. Review of Tepexpan Man. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology, N° 11. B.B.A.A. Boletín Bibliográfico De Antropología Americana 12 (2). Pan American Institute of Geography and History: 279–85. JSTOR 40973292.