Found in the ancient city of Caracol, the tomb contained a rare jade mask, ceramics, and jewelry often linked to the Maya ruling class.

The tomb is one of three recently unearthed in the area. While previous finds at Caracol-such as central Mexican artifacts discovered in 2010-suggested influence from Teotihuacán, these earlier tombs appear to belong to native Maya royalty, predating that contact by a generation.

After more than 40 years of exploration and excavations at the ancient Maya city of Caracol, researchers have finally unearthed a tomb belonging to one of its rulers. Even more significantly, the burial happens to contain the remains of Te K’ab Chaak,