Ancient artifacts turn up in city center

Construction workers discovered several 2,000-year-old pre-Hispanic artifacts while sifting through sand in downtown Guadalajara last week.

Two pots, an obsidian knife, a statue, a small head and dozens of clay fragments from an as-yet unknown object were found in a batch of sand brought in for use in public works on Calle Liceo, beside the Plaza Liberacion. The artifacts date from 300 B.C. to 400 A.D., confirmed Jorge Guillermo Olveda of the Jalisco branch of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

The statue and head were female figurines with similar characteristics to other items discovered in central Jalisco, although it remains unclear exactly where they came from. The INAH has begun an investigation in order to ascertain where the construction firm in question had brought the sand from.