VOA慢速英语--墨西哥农民发现神秘女子的大雕像

Farmers were digging among fruit trees on a farm on Mexico's coast when they found a big surprise: a stone statue almost two meters tall.

The female statue may represent an influential¹ woman rather than a goddess, or some mix of the two, experts said earlier this month.

The National Institute of Anthropology² and History said this was the first such statue in the Huasteca area of Mexico.

The statue had a complex hairpiece and showed evidence that the female subject may have held a high status. The piece may date to around 1450 to 1521, the institute said. The place where it was found is near El Tajin, a pre-Hispanic city from the early 9th to 13th centuries. But the statue shows some influences of the Aztecs.

The farmers found the piece on New Year's Day and quickly reported it to officials. The area where it was found had not been known to be an archeological site. And the statue may have been moved from another, unknown site.

The person represented by the open-mouthed, wide-eyed statue remains³ a mystery.

Institute archaeologist María Eugenia Maldonado Vite wrote that "this could be a ruler," based on her stance and clothing. She may not have been a goddess.

But Maldonado said the statue could be a mix of the Teem⁴ goddesses and women of high political or social status in Huasteca. Those goddesses were part of a fertility cult⁵, she said.

Susan Gillespie is an anthropology professor at the University of Florida.

She said Aztec documents from colonial times made note of women "rulers" who passed their power on to successors. "Women were highly valued in the pre-Hispanic" times and lost their status only after the Spanish conquest, Gillespie added.

However, she noted⁶ that "if there is only one such find, it's hard to say" how important it is or even if it is correctly identified. Archaeology⁷ works best with repeated findings, she explained.

In 1994 at the Mayan ruin site of Palenque, archaeologists found the tomb of a woman called The Red Queen. That name came from the red color that covered her tomb, which dates to between 600 and 700 A.D. But it has never been clearly established that the woman was a ruler of Palenque.

Words in This Story

institute – n. an organization created for a particular purpose (such as research or education)

status – n. the position or rank of someone or something when compared to others in a society, organization, group, etc

archaeological site – n. is a place in which evidence of a past society can be found

fertility cult – n. a religious system of some agricultural societies in which seasonal⁸ rites⁹ are performed with the aim of ensuring good harvests and the future well-being¹⁰ of the community

anthropology – n. the study of human origins, societies and cultures

conquest – n. the act of taking control of a country, city, etc., through the use of force

tomb – n. a building or chamber above or below the ground in which a dead body is kept

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 teem   

vi.(with)充满，多产

参考例句：

• Good ideas teem in her head.她的头脑里好主意极多。
• Fish teem in the Chinese waters.中国近海鱼产丰富。

5 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

8 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

9 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

10 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。