Archaeologists found bodies of 12th century Mexican tribes

In the latest excavation, archaeologists unearthed skulls and bones of 15 people, most of them children, of traveling merchants during Aztec times.

Researchers working at the currently on-going excavation said most of these children were laid down with religious artifacts by their side to 'keep them company', the 'Daily Mail' reported.

They also found ceramic flutes, bowls, incense burners but the key among the finds were the remains of a dog sacrificed to accompany a child in the afterlife and other artifacts of a pre-Columbian civilisation, researcher Alejandra Jasso Pena said.

Experts believe the site was an important ceremonial centre for the Tepanec tribe between the 13th and the 14th centuries.

The rich historic treasure had all been lost but for the timely intervention by the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico.

Construction work was about to begin on five buildings in a Mexico City neighbourhood when the National Institute of Anthropology and History asked to carry out an excavation of the site first, researcher Jasso Pena said.

Just last year, archaeologists had discovered a ceremonial Aztec platform used to burn snakes beneath Mexico City's famous Temple Mayor ruins, the paper said.

The stone platform is about 154 metres in diameter and probably built around 1469 AD.

Aztecs were ethnic groups of central Mexico, who spoke their own ethnic language and who dominated large parts of the current Americas, including current central Mexico, El Salavador, and Honduras, from the 14th to 16th centuries.